


Doll

by writergal76



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom, Chris Evans/Original Female Character - Fandom, Drama - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 01:17:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 47,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4080955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writergal76/pseuds/writergal76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jenna Coulson runs away from her violently abusive husband, James, taking her son Jack with her, she knows she is running for her life but she has no idea where she is going. Her son's and her wish to see the Pacific Ocean leads to her to Malibu, and by a twist of fate to the home of Chris Evans, Captain America.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains graphic violence and adult situations.  
> I've changed up some things for artistic reasons. I don't know Chris's nephew's names or anything of that sort. So I've named them for the sake of the story. Plus I am aware that East died, but in this story he is still around.  
> As always all of this is fiction. I've added stories on Chris's family for artistic reasons as well.

She stayed right where she was even after she heard him slam the front door, and his truck roar off down the street. Sometimes he played a game, pretending to leave only to come back and see if she was still "pretending to be hurt" as he called it, so he could hit her some more. Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it pounding in her ears. This time she hadn't fought back, hadn't cried or begged him to stop. It had never done any good anyway.

Her lip stung as she tried to breathe through her mouth. She was certain her nose was broken this time. Blood dripped down her chin and onto the floor. The floor that was covered with tonight's dinner. Mashed potatoes and gravy was smeared across the floor where he had drug her by her hair. A plate was broken and its pieces lay in a pile of soda, next to his overturned chair. 

It was the soda that had started the fight. He had asked her to bring him one from the fridge. When he opened the bottle, it had exploded all over his work uniform. In a flash he punched her straight in the face. She dropped to her knees and put her hands up to protect her face. From there he punched and kicked her until he was satisfied he had punished her enough. This time Jack had slept through it or at least she hoped he had. The last time he had run in and threw himself in front of her. James had slapped him, sending him flying across the room. That beating was the worst; he had broken 2 of her ribs that night. He could hit her all he wanted, but Jack was just a little boy. Almost 7 years old. She was used to the abuse. Jack deserved better. 

She got up slowly, her back hurting and her legs trembling. She staggered into the bathroom and ran cold water into the sink. She carefully washed her face, pressed the cold cloth to her bleeding split lip and tried to get the bleeding to stop. This was it, she thought. No more. If she didn't get herself and Jack out of there he would end up killing her.  
With her heart still pounding in her throat, she ran to the bedroom and grabbed her old suitcase. The one she had when he first brought her to his grandmother's home. She began throwing clothes into it as quickly as she could. As she grabbed clothes, her hand hit his ivory handled .45 pistol. She swallowed hard and forced herself to continue throwing clothes into the suitcase. Still running, she grabbed another bag and went to Jack's room. They had to leave right now, before he could come back. 

In the darkness, she could see Jack looking at her. "Come on, Jackie. We have to go." She whispered. 

"Are you hurt, Momma?" His big eyes illuminated by his Captain America night light. 

"Momma's fine. Get up and get dressed as fast as you can. We're going on a trip." She grabbed as many of his clothes as she could fit in the duffel bag. 

"Are we going to see my cousins?" Jack asked pulling on jeans. 

"Yes, we're going to see Leelee." She licked her lips and felt the sting. It was a lie, but it would make Jack move faster and with less of a protest. "Hurry please. Grab your back pack you take to Granny's." 

"Can I bring my Legos? And my stuffed bear, and my video games?" 

"You can't take everything. Just a few things, sweetheart. One stuffed animal and your box of Legos. That's it. We have to hurry before Daddy...." She stopped before she said too much. 

"Are we running away?" Jack wanted to know. "Daddy will be mad!"

"Yes, we're running away." She said finally. 

"Will Daddy come find us and make us come home?" He pulled on his shoes. 

"I'll talk about it later. Let's get in the car first though." She grabbed the pillow off Jack's bed and the blanket. 

"But what about all my toys." She could hear Jack begin to sniffle. 

She knelt down in front of him and buttoned up his jacket. "Listen, JackJack. I promise I will get you more. We have to leave before Daddy gets back." She wiped away his fallen tears. "I need you to be my big solider man, okay. Can you do that for me?" Jack nodded and sniffed loudly. 

Her arms full, she tore through the house and out to the car. It was pitch black that night, the moon covered by the thick clouds. She looked over at the neighbor's house and was glad it was dark. They wouldn't be awake and looking out their windows, spying on her, and reporting back to her husband what she had been doing. She tossed the pillows and bedding in the backseat, in the trunk went the suitcase and duffel bag. 

She ran back inside and grabbed her purse and found the prepaid cell phone she had secretly purchased a few days prior. Jack was standing, wringing his hands as he looked at the mess in the kitchen. She got her important papers out of her vanity table. What else did she need to get. Think, think, think! Go, go, go! She opened the freezer, moved around the gallons of ice cream, and frozen fish, and assorted game meat to find her foil wrapped package. Her secret savings stash. Nickels, dimes, dollar bills, she had scrimped and stolen from James' wallet over the months, almost a year until she had around five hundred dollars. All the money she had in the world. 

Jack had stopped wringing his hands and was now sucking his thumb. Something he hadn't done since he was a toddler. "Come on, sweetie." She picked him up against her bruised hip and side and winced. 

She got him settled in the back seat in a makeshift bed. Still watching the neighbor's house and the street for any sign of James, she turned the ignition. The car started quietly this time. The car was old and she was certain it would fall apart on her one day. All she wanted right now was for it to get them away from here, away from him. Please, please, please she prayed as she slowly pulled out of the driveway. As she turned down the street and turned to get on the highway, her legs were shaking and her hands were slick on the steering wheel. She didn't know where they were going. Just as far away from him as they could get was all she prayed.  
"Is Daddy a bad man, Momma?" Jack's little voice startled her from the back seat.

"Lie down and try to go back to sleep." She tried to not talk bad about Jack's father. 

"He's going to be pissed when he finds out we're gone." Jack said and he hugged his Avenger Hulk doll to his chest. 

"Don't say bad words, Jack!" She scolded softly. In the past year, Jack had begun cussing, copying his father. Twice he had gotten in trouble at school for hitting other children. Both times, she and James had to come to visit in the principal's office. She hated the way the office ladies would look at her with pity in their eyes. He's a very bright boy, but we just can't have him hurting our other students. If this doesn't stop, we'll have to look into other forms of education for Jack the principal said the last time. 

"Well, he is!" Jack stated again.

"I know." She said, and looked in the rear view mirror. She caught sight of her reflection. One of her eyes was beginning to swell shut, and her lip was starting to bleed again. She pulled a tissue from her purse and gently blotted her lip. She imagined when James got home and discovered them gone. First he would smash up everything of hers, kick holes into the bedroom walls, then he would get his silver plated .45, tear off in his truck to every friend they had. The first time she had left, she had gone to one of their mutual friends, Greg and Tully. He had beat on their door, waking every one up and demanding to see her and his kid. It had gotten so bad; a neighbor had called the cops. The police officer, a friend of James, forced her to come outside and make up with him. She had gone back home that night and for a few weeks, James was sweet and nice. Until it started all over again. Each time she left and went back it happened again and again. Each time worse and worse. 

"Where are we going to go?" Jack asked sleepily from his make shift bed. 

"I don't know. Somewhere far away." Her head was beginning to throb and she wished she had taken some of James' pain pills with her before she left. 

"I wanna go see the ocean." Jack murmured sleepily from his makeshift bed.

"We'll see." She didn't know if the car would hold up to make it to the coast from Arizona. Just keep driving west she thought. Every once in a while she would look back in the mirror, expecting to see James flying up behind her. "Just lie down and sleep. We've got a long way to go." She too had always wanted to see the ocean. If everything went well, if the car held up until they got to the Pacific Ocean, she could get a job, maybe a small apartment for them, and they could start over, without having to be afraid. 

She kept looking over her shoulder, in the rear view mirror, thinking he was coming for them, for her. Eventually she stopped looking back and concentrated on driving in the rain. She drove as far as she could before the pain was too much to bear, and she could barely see. She pulled off at the first sight of a major truck stop. She filled the car with gas, ran inside and got water and a package of aspirin. She then pulled around back where the truck drivers parked overnight. Finding a place between two trucks she backed in. After she took the aspirin, she made sure the doors were locked, wrapped a blanket around her and tried to sleep. 

 

Jack woke her as soon as the sun was up. Sleep had not been kind to her. She hurt even worse this morning than she did when she went to sleep. She cranked up the car and pulled it to the front of the truck stop restaurant. 

"Where are we?" Jack asked, looking through the windows. 

"I don't know, hon. west of home is all I know." She put on a pair of sunglasses to hide her black eyes. "Are you hungry?" 

Jack nodded. "Do they have pancakes?" 

"I'm sure they do." She followed the signs to the rest rooms and pulled Jack behind her. 

Jack stopped and refused to go in. "That's a girl's bathroom. I can't go in there." 

"It's okay, Jack. No one will care, I promise." 

"No!" He stomped his foot and gave her the same look his father gave her when he was about to fight. His dark green eyes were narrowed in defiance.

"Jack, please." She whispered loudly. "Don't do this right now. You can't go in the men's bathroom by yourself."

"I'm not going in the girl's room!" He raised his voice.

"Jack, I need to go too. If you come with me, I'll let you get chocolate milk." She knew she shouldn't bribe him to behave, but she was at her wits end.

Finally Jack relented and followed her in. He went into a stall by himself while she went in the next one. He came out as she did. She washed her hands and tried to wash her face the best she could. Both eyes were purple with one swollen almost shut; her lip and nose was swollen and her lip was starting to scab over. No amount of make- up would be able to cover up the damage this time. She would have to get creative again to try and make herself look presentable. She put her sunglasses back on and pulled her long hair back in a ponytail.

In the restaurant, Jack ate his pancakes while she drank coffee and took some more aspirin. She sipped her coffee and tried to eat a few bites of Jack's pancakes. The waitress came by and refilled her cup and gave her a sympathetic look. She kept an eye on the door, still paranoid that he had followed her and was waiting to pounce. When she asked for the check, the waitress brought over 2 pieces of pie, a large coffee, and a milk to go.

"I hope you gave him back what he gave to you, honey. The pie is on me." 

"Thank you." She replied back softly. She left the waitress a nice tip even though she was on limited funds. Within ten minutes they were back on the road. Her paranoia was lessening with every mile she put between her and James. She looked in the back seat and saw Jack playing with two of his action figures. The bigger one beating on the littler one. She sighed. Hopefully with time, Jack would forget what he had witnessed and stop his acting out. 

 

When she finally made it to the California border, she breathed a sigh of relief. Just keep going until you see the ocean, or until the car breaks down. Either one would work long as they were far away. They finally stopped for lunch and to gas up the car. Jack had eaten the pie earlier and had saved the second piece for her, but the thought of eating made her nauseated. Jack ate a cheeseburger and fries while she looked at the map. They were only a few hours away from Los Angeles. It was then that it hit her. How hopeless it all was. How in the world would she and Jack be able to survive in California? Maybe she could drive to Los Angeles, make it to one of the beach communities and find work there. She was smart or at least she had been before she allowed herself to be beaten black and blue. 

She loaded Jack back up in the car after she let him play at the McDonald's play land for a bit. She studied the map some more and decided on the route she could take. She stayed on I-10 and followed it all the way until it turned into the 210. The names of the towns were familiar, Pasadena, Burbank. From the 210, she zigzagged and went back south and then back west. She saw the sign for Malibu and turned off on the 1 to look for a cheap hotel. She would get them a room, get a newspaper, and maybe find a job right away. Things would work out for them. They had to. She had no other choice. 

It was almost evening when she pulled into the motel parking lot. Lucky for her, it had a diner next door. She got them both some hamburgers and fries to go, and bought a newspaper from the machine outside the diner. Jack sat on the bed and ate his burger and watched television while she looked through the want ads. She carefully circled as many as she thought she qualified for. First thing in the morning, she would start calling. If she had to go for an interview, she could always say she was in an accident if the make-up didn't cover enough. 

While Jack was watching his favorite show, she told him she was going to take a shower. "After I'm done I want you to take one too. " 

Jack nodded and went back to watching his show. She went in the bathroom and left the door ajar, so she could hear Jack if he needed her. There was a large bruise stretching from her hip to her ribs. One eye was still swollen almost shut and purple while the other had large purple bruise under it. Her lip was looking better, still a little swollen but it had scabbed over nicely. It would only be another day and she could hide it with lipstick and the others with concealer and foundation. She had become a pro at covering up the bruises. She got under the hot spray and tried to relax the knots in her shoulders and back. She kept looking at the door expecting James to kick it down and come in with guns blazing. The thought of James finding them made her heart race and panic to creep up. Over and over she had to tell herself he didn't know where they were, they were safe. He'll never find us she whispered to herself. 

She got out and shooed Jack into the shower. "No playing in there. Wash your hair too. "

Jack nodded at her. "Afterwards can I watch some more TV?" 

"Yes, but just one more show. We have a big day tomorrow." She brushed her hair out. It was way too long for her liking, but James had liked her hair long, long and this unnatural shade of red. She looked in her purse and didn't find anything. In Jack's school bag she found a pair of kid's safety scissors. Carefully she cut her hair until it was just above her shoulders. She knew it would be uneven but cutting that long hair off felt freeing, like she was cutting some invisible cord between her and James.

Jack came out of the bathroom smelling of ivory soap and little boy. "You cut your hair Momma." He looked at the hair all over the floor. 

"I thought I needed a haircut." She smiled and laughed. Jack laughed with her and for the first time in a days, she felt the weight lift from her shoulders even if for just a moment


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning while they ate breakfast, she looked at all the jobs she had circled. With a sad sigh, she realized that almost none of them would work. They were all for office work, retail, or some other full time position. It was summer, so no school to occupy Jack. She didn't know anyone she could ask to babysit and daycare would exhaust all of her funds. Her funds that were running low after gas, food, and what would now be a two night stay at the motel. She looked back through the ads, focusing on live in help. She told Jack to go play. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the first number. 

Two listened and wanted to interview her until she mentioned she had a child. Out of the question they said. The next was for a live in nanny, but the lady sounded too much like her mother in law and she got scared and hung up quickly. Another wanted to interview her tomorrow, and didn't care if she had a child. That was a little bit of hope for her despite everything. She was still scared. Her money wouldn't last forever. Unless she could find work soon, work that would pay her soon, she would have to use the last of her funds to go back home. Back to James where he would kill her this time. She had run away from him so many times she had lost count. The last time she had left and taken Jack, he had found her at the shelter. She had no family left, no friends that weren't tied to James in some way. No matter what she did he always found her. 

It was being at the shelter that gave her the idea to start saving change. She never expected to live long enough to be able to use that change and run again. But it had given her comfort over the past year to know that it was there. That someday had come a few nights ago. Please, please, please, she prayed again. Just give us a little bit of good luck.

 

That afternoon, she and Jack went to the beach for the first time. She bought Jack a pair of swimming trunks and some sunscreen at a discount store. Her bruises were too bad for her to consider putting on a swimsuit, so she just rolled up her jeans to her knees and waded in the water while Jack built sandcastles and searched for shells. Soon another boy joined Jack and they started to build a fortress for their soldiers. 

"I'm so glad there is another boy here for Robbie to play with." The young woman said, startling her. 

"Oh, yeah." She smiled to see Jack playing nicely with another child. She was sure that Jack had been bored being stuck with only his mother for the past few days. 

"I'm Molly, Robbie's nanny." Molly flipped her black hair over her shoulder and stuck out her hand." She had a large tote bag hanging off her other shoulder. 

"That's Jack." She pointed over to her son. "I'm his mom." She shook the girl's hand.

"Well, hi Jack's mom." Molly laughed. 

"Sorry I'm Jenna. I'm used to dealing with kids. You know the Jack's mom, can we have some soda. Jack's mom can we have some chips?" She smiled and felt her lip split open again. 

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" Molly reached in her bag and pulled out a tissue.

Jenna took it and dabbed at her lip. "I'm sorry. I was in an accident a few days ago. My lip just doesn't want to heal." She was thankful for the large sunglasses hiding her black eyes. 

"A car accident? What happened?" Molly asked.

This is what she feared would happen. She would have to answer too many questions. "Umm... some guy ran a red light and hit me. The air bag deployed and busted my lip." 

"I'm so sorry. Are you guys on vacation?" 

"Yeah. Something like that." She didn't want to make any more small talk. 

"Well I've got to get Robbie back home. He's here visiting his uncle for the summer." Molly called for Robbie and the brown haired boy said bye to Jack. "Maybe we'll see you tomorrow?" 

"Maybe." She replied. "Let's go too Jack." Jack frowned and for a moment she feared he would make another scene. Instead he gathered up his sand pail and followed her back to the car. As she brushed off the sand off him and herself, she asked him, "It was nice having someone to play with today, wasn't it?" Jack nodded. He had been very quiet all day. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I miss Daddy." He said and his lip trembled. "He always said he would take me to the beach. I wish he was here. He was sometimes nice." He put on his seat belt while she pulled out of the beach parking lot. 

It hurt her to hear him say he missed his dad. "I know you miss him. I do too sometimes. But Daddy liked to hurt Momma sometimes. He made me scared."

"Daddy said if you would do like he said, he wouldn't have to hurt you."

She stopped the car and looked directly at her son. He had her nose, but his father's striking green eyes. "Listen to me, Jack. You should never, ever, ever, hit anyone. No matter if they make you mad, or if they don't do like you want them too. Do you understand me?" 

Jack nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry, Momma." 

"It's okay. Now do you want to get cleaned up and go to dinner? I'm thinking we should get pizza tonight. How does that sound?" Jack nodded, but was still unnervingly quiet. Maybe one day when they got settled she could have him talk to someone.   
The woman at the appointment took one look at her and Jack and almost shut the door. At the last moment she invited them in. Her husband was sitting in the next room and was yelling at someone on the phone. 

"Don't mind him. He's an investment banker. He's always yelling at someone." 

The woman's smile was fake and she avoided looking her in the eyes. She explained what the job was: part nanny for five small children, cooking, cleaning, and errand running. Jack and she were shown a small room over the garage that would be theirs. Finally the woman sighed and said, "I've got a few other people to interview. I'll have to let you know." 

She gave the lady her room number at the motel. She knew her chances weren't good. Anytime someone says, "I'll let you know." That meant no. She lead Jack back out to the car. Her hope was dwindling and she laid her head down on the steering wheel and started to cry softly.

"Can we go to the beach now?" Jack asked.

She pulled herself together and nodded. "Sure Jackjack." She drove directly into Malibu. She stopped at a bluff overlooking the beach with gorgeous rock formations dotting the seascape. 

Jack scrambled out of the car, grabbing his sand pail. "Wait up for me, Jack." She called out as he ran down the stairs to waiting surf. As he played in the water, she sat down in the sand. No one was going to give her a job, with her face all banged up, with a young kid along for an interview. Who had she been kidding when she took off in the dead of night? They would spend another night at the motel, and then use the last of her money to get back to Phoenix. James would be loving and sweet for a while. He would apologize for getting angry, tell her how much he loved her, that he couldn't live without her, and beg her to never leave him again. That he would rather die than live without her and Jack. But then in another month, maybe two, he would slap her, call her a whore, break some more of her bones, and then the next time he had his .45 pointed at her temple, he would pull the trigger. 

All he really wanted was Jack. He wouldn't care about her if she hadn't taken Jack. She could have left without Jack, but she couldn't bear the thought of him growing up to be just like his father. She needed a real miracle to happen. If there was a god, some kind of Supreme Being in control of the universe, he could step in and help anytime now.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm hungry, Momma." Jack tugged at her. He was beginning to get a nice tan, and his hair was turning light brown with sun streaks of blonde. 

"Okay, let's go get some sandwiches from the little market down the road and come back. We'll have a picnic on the beach." She was going to try and make the best of the last day here before she had to go back.

The air was cool on her sun kissed skin as she walked inside the market. She grabbed a basket and walked through the store. She grabbed a few apples, a couple of bananas. Jack had walked over to the deli where they had fresh sandwiches. "Do you want turkey or ham?" She asked. He picked up a ham and cheese one and placed in the basket. She grabbed a turkey for herself and a bag of cheese chips. Jack grabbed a candy bar and held it out, giving her a look. "Okay. Get me one too." 

She got in line behind two young women, who were talking about their own job search.

"I was supposed to go to that interview today. The one for the house sitter." The blonde said. 

She didn't mean to ease drop but her ears perked up when she heard house sitter and job. She leaned just a bit closer and tried to act like she was looking at the magazine rack. 

The blonde continued on, "The agency said it was for a house sitter, personal assistant, all this other stuff. That's too much work. Just let me house sit; don't give me all this other shit to do for you as well. You may be rich, but you're not disabled, you can get your own groceries and dry cleaning." The other girl laughed. "But if you want it, go. It's the blue house on Canyon Street. The one in the middle of the cul de sac. You can't miss it. Just tell them Morgan sent you."

"Nah. That sounds like way too much work. Plus those types want you to be on call 24-7. I heard Cecily say her boss called her at 3 in the morning to ask where the orange juice was. The chick hadn't even looked in her own fridge." 

The girls paid for their groceries and left. An idea sparked inside her. What if she went and interviewed for the job. Maybe this was god's way of giving her a break. "Do you have a street map of the area?" She asked the clerk. The clerk pulled a Malibu street map off the rack and hand it to her. She paid for her items and then her and Jack headed back out. 

She opened the map in the car and searched for Canyon Street. Right now she was on the highway bordering the coast. Canyon Street was east of where she was. "Go ahead and eat your sandwich Jack." 

"You said we were going back to the beach. You lied!" He bounced back in the seat and crossed his arms, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.

"It might be another job interview. Please Jackie. Just be good for me and eat your sandwich. If we can, we'll go right after." He started to eat his sandwich, but was still pouting. She turned on to the highway and followed the map until she turned into a subdivision. The roads were curvy and wooded, a few houses dotted here and there, but more trees and curves in the road. She made another turn and there was Canyon Street. She drove slowly down the street until she came to the end. There in front of her was a big blue house. There was a huge wrought iron fence surrounding it. She pulled up to the gate and pushed the intercom button. 

"Yes. " A woman's voice said, she had distinct Boston accent to her voice. 

"Ummm... I'm here for the house sitter job. Morgan sent me." She mumbled prayer under her breathe. Please, please, please. Just one break, that's all I ask. 

The intercom crackled again. "Come on up." There was a buzzing sound and then the gates began to slide open. She drove up the driveway and parked behind a black Range Rover. It was a beautiful home. One of the prettiest she had ever seen. She could see a large basketball court behind the home and more trees surrounding it. 

She gave herself a quick once over in the mirror. Her hair was jagged from where had cut it with the dull scissors so she pulled it up with a clip. Her makeup was beginning to fade showing the purple and blue bruises around her eyes, and her lip still looked horrible. "If anyone asks, Momma was in a car accident, okay Jack." 

Jack nodded. "Are we going to live here now?" He asked looking around. 

"Maybe I'll get a job here and then we will." She said as they walked up to the door. "Just remember to be good." 

The woman who came to the door had golden brown hair and bright blue eyes. She radiated this warm glow about her, niceness. It put her at ease immediately. "Oh my gosh! CHRIS!!" She yelled over her shoulder. "What happened to you, sweetheart?" 

She took a step back, intimidated by the outburst from the woman. "I was in an accident a few days ago. I'm here about the house sitter job." 

The woman looked at her and then at Jack. Suddenly a small brown haired boy appeared from behind her. It was Robbie from the beach. "Did you come to play?" The little boy asked Jack. 

Jack looked up at her and then back at Robbie. The woman motioned for them to come inside. "Come on in. The boys can play for a bit." Jack and Robbie ran off down the hall. "Do you want some coffee?" The way she said coffee. Cawfee, made her smile. "Yes please."

"I'm Carly by the way." She looked back at her. 

"Jenna." She looked around the beautiful home. The outside didn't do the inside justice. Inside the house was filled with light from the floor to ceiling windows and light colored wood beams. She followed Carly into the living room. A large charcoal grey sectional took up the room; there were two bookshelves on either side of a stone fireplace. There were so many books. Books stuffed in the shelves, on top of other books. Books on the coffee table. Somebody read and read a lot. A brown and white bulldog was sprawled out on the sofa, sleeping, his tongue rolled out of his mouth. 

"East, get off the couch, ya big lug!" She nudged the dog off the couch and he gave her an indignant look before falling asleep again under the coffee table. "Here's Chris. He'll be the one interviewing you. I'll be back with that coffee." 

The man that appeared in the room had the same warm glow as the woman. Where she was short and petite, he was tall and muscular. His face was covered by a neatly trimmed dark brown beard. It suited him she thought. He looked like a beard guy. "Hi, I'm Chris." He held out a hand to her. He smiled and looked directly at her. His blue eyes quickly looked away after seeing her black eye. "So when did you have this accident?" 

"I'm Jenna. It was a few days ago." She lowered her eyes. She didn't want to feel the pity coming from his eyes. Carly came back into the room holding two cups of coffee. "I hope you like cream and sugar. You look like a cream and sugar kind of gal." Jenna took the mug and cupped it between her hands. She was much too jittery to drink the coffee. 

"So tell me about yourself." Chris leaned back on the couch. The dog jumped up beside him and rolled over for a belly rub.   
"Umm..." Jenna hated these kinds of interview questions. It had been so long since someone had asked her questions about herself that she had lost sight of who she was. Who had she been before she had become a wife, mother? "I'm 29, from Phoenix."

"Why did you come here?" He asked and rubbed a hand over his beard. He was curious what would bring a young woman with a child, driving a beat up car, from Phoenix all the way to Malibu. 

"I wanted..." She stopped. "I mean, we wanted to see the ocean."

"Yeah, I saw your son. He's in the playroom with Robbie."

"I hope you don't mind. Your son asked him to play. Your wife said it was okay." Jenna said in a rush. She didn't want to impose on them. 

He laughed deeply and slapped a hand across his chest. "Carly's my sister. Robbie's her son. Robbie's going to be staying the summer with me. I'm not married. Single as a pringle." He was still smiling at her as he took a sip of his coffee. 

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Jenna started to smile and felt her lip split again, blood welling up. "Sorry, "She said and searched her purse for a tissue. 

"It's okay. Hold on, let me get something for you." He stood up and disappeared out of the room. The dog rolled over and looked at her. Then slowly he inched over to her and laid his head in her lap, his paws covering one of her hands. She carefully stroked the dog's velvety ears. "You're a spoiled baby aren't you?" She spoke in a high voice to the dog. The dog inched closer until he was sitting in her lap, leaned up against her like a baby. 

Chris was back in the room again. When he saw her with the dog sitting in her lap, he laughed. That deep hearty belly laugh again. "Looks like someone likes you. Just push him away if he gets to be too much." He sat down next to her. In his hands, he had a wash cloth and a small jar that she thought might be some type of lip balm. "Here press this cold cloth to your lip for a moment."

Jenna pressed the cold cloth to her lip. The coolness felt good against her bruised and split lip. "So what all does this job entail?" She felt uncomfortable being this close to him. 

"Oh yeah, the job," he knew a battered and abused woman when he saw one. There was no accident that would cause a split lip and one eye to be swollen shut while the other wasn't. He wasn't going to pry though. "I've got a job coming up that will take me out of town for a few months. I need someone to watch the house for me, take care of things, you know check the mail; make sure the landscapers do their job, just typical things you do when you have a home. I also need someone to keep up with my schedule. Remind me of appointments, events, awards shows."

"Awards shows?" Jenna took the cloth away from her mouth. He did look familiar to her, but she was always bad at recognizing faces. One time she had run into Peyton Manning and not recognized him until James had. 

He laughed again. "You really don't know who I am do you? They didn't tell you at the agency?" 

She lowered her head and shook it. "I'm sorry."

He opened the little jar and took a hunk of the orange colored salve with his finger. "May I?" He motioned to her lip. 

She nodded and leaned forward. His finger gently touched her bottom lip, carefully dabbing at the cut. His touch was so soft and gentle. It had been a long time since a man had touched her without hurting her. "This is turmeric paste made with coconut oil. It works wonders for split lips. The make-up girl on Captain America told me about it after I got a split lip filming a fight scene." He gently spread the salve over her lip. 

Jenna pulled back, "You're that Chris." She knew her face must have been filled with shock and disbelief. "You're Captain America Chris?" 

"Well, I prefer just Chris Evans." He said that laugh tinging his words. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean too..." He waved her apology away. She felt embarrassed now. He was probably used to people who were much more professional than she was. People who had experience working with his kind. 

"Do you have any kind of experience being a personal assistant?" He got back up and sat down at the end of the couch. 

"I used to help run dad's business." She said. She wished that she had started college; some kind of degree surely would help her. 

"What kind of business was that?" 

"Construction. I kept the books, scheduled appointments, general secretary stuff." 

He sat back, the mug of coffee in one hand, while the other stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if you'd be a good fit. It's a lot harder than just scheduling some construction work."

"Please, just give me a chance, "Jenna said quickly, desperation in her voice. "I promise I don't mind long hours or hard work. I learn quickly. I can do this job. My son won't be a problem either. He's a really good boy." She was begging and she hated herself for it. What choice did she have? She couldn't go back. 

Chris nodded and looked back at her. "Just sit here for a moment while I talk to my sister, okay?" 

"Okay," Jenna sat back on the couch and tried to sip at her coffee. Whatever he had put on her lip made it feel better. She watched him walk outside to where his sister was sitting. 

 

His sister was sitting outside enjoying the sunlight and reading a book. He looked up at the dark cloudy sky in the distance. "There's a storm moving in." 

"Mmhhmm." His sister replied lazily turning the pages of her book. "How's the interview going? You know I've got to go back to Boston the day after tomorrow."

"I know." He glanced back in at the woman. East had made his home again in her lap and she was petting him slowly. The dog looked like he was in heaven in her small lap. "She reminds me of our cousin Laura." All at once he wished he hadn't said anything. 

Carly put down her book and looked at him. "You and I both know she's lying about the car accident." 

Chris nodded. "I don't know if I can hire her and not remember what happened to Laura." 

"But what if you don't hire her and she goes back to the son of a bitch that did that to her?" Carly searched her brother's expressive face. "You know what Mom would do, don't you?" 

Chris sighed, "I know. Our house was like a hotel growing up. Mom helped anyone and everyone." 

"Do a two weeks trial. If it doesn't work out, you can help her get into a shelter or find some other way to help. Besides East seems to be in love with her, and her son will give Robbie someone to play with."

Chris nodded. "Two weeks. I can deal with two weeks. "He planted a kiss on the top of his sister's head. "Thanks Sis."


	4. Chapter 4

"You're a good boy, aren't ya? A very good boy." She was talking in that high voice again to his dog.

"Let's give this a two week trial, okay. So when can you start?" He interrupted her. It still bothered him to see her or any woman for that matter abused by a man. 

She took a moment to realize that Chris was speaking to her. "Tomorrow."

"Let me show you where you and your son..." he paused.

"My son's named Jackson, Jack for short." She got up and followed him through the house. He walked outside and across the backyard to a small ranch style building behind the main house.

"You and Jack can stay here. It's called mother in law quarters, but it's got 2 bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. More like a guest house in my opinion. It's not much, but I think you'll be okay." He opened the door and then handed her the key. "I'll air it out and make up the beds, place some towels in the bathroom."

Jenna had been expecting just a room for her and Jack to share. Not a small house for them. "No, this is wonderful. " She looked at him. "Thank you so much. This is perfect. I promise you won't regret it." 

"Come by tomorrow around ten and we can discuss everything else. Your pay, my schedule, it'll be a lot to take in at once." 

Robbie and Jack came running out to the backyard. "Uncle Chris, Uncle Chris." Robbie called out. "Can Jack spend the night, please?" Jack was smiling, the first real smile she had seen since they fled in the middle of the night.

Chris looked over at her. "I don't know Robbie. You'll have to ask Jack's mom." The little boy had dark green eyes, and light brown hair. His nose was covered in freckles just like his mom. 

"I don't know Jack. We just met them. I don't want to be a bother." Jenna told her son. 

"Pleassseeeeee!" The two boys begged in unison. Chris nodded his head, "It's all right, he can spend the night. You'll be here in the morning."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I don't want to impose."

"I'm positive." He stated. "Or if it bothers you that much you can move your stuff in tonight. Either way works for me. It's up to you." 

Jenna looked down at Jack's expectant face. "I'll move our stuff in tonight, okay." The two boys cheered and ran back inside.

Chris nodded, "I'll leave you to it then. When you're finished you can come inside. I think my sister is cooking one of her famous spaghetti dinners tonight. Since Jack is spending the night you can join us." 

"Thank you. "She said softly. Things were going to be okay. After two weeks he would see how much of a hard worker she was. It would work out. Jack would start school in the fall. She would make them a good life out here. James would never be able to hurt her again.

 

After a delicious dinner, Chris helped move her few bags into the guest house. While she had been helping Carly make dinner, he had put sheets on the bed, and towels in the bathroom. He had even put a television set in the small living room. She showered, and got ready for bed, looking over the planner Chris had dropped off. The last assistant had left her a lot of short cuts and helpful hints. Names to use for when she booked him hotels, numbers for airlines and car services. Chris had included some of his own. Tomorrow morning they would talk salary and benefits if she stayed past the two week period. 

In bed her body was still buzzing from the excitement of the day. She tried to close her eyes, but the cracks of thunder and lightning kept startling her, causing every muscle in her body to go tight. She felt too vulnerable to sleep with her back to the door, so she stayed on her bruised side, watching the door. She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. Exhausted, she finally fell asleep.  


Jenna woke up suddenly. She thought she heard a noise outside the guest house. Slipping out of the bed, she crept to the window and peered out between the curtains. Lightening flashed across the sky, illuminating the backyard for just a moment. Was that the shadow of someone standing in the yard? No, it was only the shadow of the large orange tree in the corner of the yard. She let the curtains fall closed and looked over at the locked door. No one was out there. No one was going to come in and hurt her. James wasn't going to find her and hurt her.

She started back to the bedroom when she heard it again. Someone outside was whistling, she moved back to the window again and peered out. That shadow had moved again. It was moving closer. Suddenly a figure sprang up in front of her. James. With his gun. An evil glint in his eyes.  
Wildly she ran across the room and back into the bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it. She huddled in the corner of the room. With a loud bang, the gun went off, and the door flew open, "Get out here, you stupid bitch!"  


She was going to die. Die in this pretty little house and bring horrible things to Chris' beautiful home and his sister and nephew. Please, please, please, don't let me die this way! James stood over her, grinning down at her in the darkness. "When are you ever gonna learn, bitch!" He was smiling as his hands wound in her hair, jerking her up and off her feet so he could press the cold steel of the gun to her temple.

Please....Fighting the waves of terror, she groped up though the tight grasps of sleep. Wake up, wake up, wake up! She sprang up in the bed, gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest. A quick look around assured her she was still in bed, in the guest house. No one was there. James hadn't found her. She concentrated on slowing her breathing, before she gave herself a panic attack. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi. Slowly her breathing returned to normal. After several moments, she got out of the bed and walked to the kitchen. She got a glass of water, and drank it slowly. Still too frightened to return to bed, she turned on the television and curled up on the couch until daylight came.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're up early." Carly said with a sleepy smile and a yawn when she came into the kitchen and saw Chris already awake and making breakfast. 

"Bad night. " He said, handing her a cup of coffee. "From the looks of you, the same is true for you." 

"Thank so much, Bubba." She gave him the middle finger and sat down across from him at the bar. "Couldn't sleep again?" 

He nodded, flipping some pancakes onto a plate. "I feel like we're making a mistake taking on this woman and her kid." 

"What's this we shit, ya gotta mouse in your pocket?" She loved teasing her younger brother. 

Chris rolled his eyes. "I feel like I'm making a mistake taking her in, and her kid."

"Her kid's a sweetie. A little aggressive, but that's to be expected after what he's probably witnessed in his young life. You'll be a good influence on him."

"I'm not his father." Chris aimed his spatula at her. 

"No, but imagine the one he has. The one who did that to his mother, probably many times in front of him." 

"And what if he comes here, looking for her, for them. Then what? Can you imagine the field day the press will have?" Chris slide his sister a plate of pancakes and bacon. 

"And? Imagine if she goes back. Do you want to turn on the news one night and see that some guy has killed his wife, and that you could have done something to change it?" Carly snapped at him. 

"I know. I know. "He crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "You like her, dontcha?" 

"I think she's brave. It takes courage to have done what she did. Leaving and driving all this way with no job and not knowing a single soul."

Chris nodded again, looking out at the guest house. He had seen the television come on while he was up early this morning. He wondered if she had as hard time sleeping as he did. 

"Chris?"

"What?" 

"She's a very frightened woman. Try not to be too difficult for her." 

"I'll try." He said. "Now eat before those boys get up and eat everything in sight."

 

Jenna knocked on the back door and waited for Chris to motion her to come inside. "You don't have to knock. Just come on in. Treat this place as if it were your own home, okay?" 

Chris led her through the kitchen where he offered her coffee and pancakes. Jack and Robbie were already eating pancakes and making a syrupy mess of the kitchen table and themselves. "Have some breakfast first and then I'll show you the rest of the house." She ate quickly and then admonished Jack to stop making such a mess. 

"Don't worry about it. Boys make messes. That's how moms know to find us. Follow the trail of crumbs." He smiled and laughed. Jenna gave him a shy smile in return. 

Chris led Jenna around the kitchen, pointing out the list on fridge, telling her to put anything her or Jack needed on it. The laundry room was off the kitchen and held a space age style washer and dryer. "Don't worry about my laundry or Robbie's. Either I'll do it or I'll have the maid that comes do it. Feel free to use it anytime." 

There was the living room where she had been yesterday; East was back in his usual spot, asleep on his back. When he heard her voice, he perked up, jumped off the couch and followed her through the rest of the house. "My room's off the back here, Robbie's room or the guest bedroom is here. This is my office, he pointed inside a spacious room with a built in desk that wrapped around the entire room. There was another guest room and then another living room, with a fireplace and large flat screen TV, that had several gaming systems hooked up to it.

"Let's go back into the kitchen and go over the boring paperwork." He led her back into the kitchen. The boys had cleared out and a tall dark skinned woman was busy putting dishes away.   
"This is Shelby." Chris made a quick introduction. "This is Jenna; she'll be my new personal assistant and house sitter." Shelby smiled, but kept on working. "Let's go back to my office instead." 

He was really tall she thought, walking behind him. He was a very large and tall man. His biceps were some of the largest she had ever seen. He had broad shoulders that narrowed down to slim waist. She bet that he had a 6 pack under that white t-shirt he wore. Probably a 12 pack. "I just need to get some information from you to give to my accountant."

Jenna stared at him for the longest time. She didn't want to be found, didn't want that paper trial to lead James to her and Jack. "What kind of information." He stared back at her, like he knew she had a deep dark secret and that he would find it out one way or another.

"Let's just start out with your name, Jenna what?" His pen was poised over the papers. 

"Jenna Coulson." She said softly. He liked her voice, all husky and honey like. 

"Eventually, you'll need to register your car for here. They get kind of pissy with out of state tags. Will that be a problem?" 

Jenna looked away from him and looked at the floor. He noticed that she did that. Whenever he asked her something or looked at her in the eyes. She looked away suddenly or looked at the floor, like she was ashamed. "If so, you can drive one of mine until you can. My insurance covers any licensed driver. I assume you are licensed, right?" 

"Yes of course."

"I'll pay you by check. You can open a bank account at the local bank here. Have we talked about salary yet?" He tapped the pen against his full red lips. Jenna shook her head. 

"How does a thousand a week sound?" 

"That sounds fine." Jenna thought to herself that was more than she would be making at any other job, and this came with room and board included. Even if he decided to get rid of her after two weeks she would have enough to find something else. But it wouldn't come down to that. She would prove to him that she could do it. He wouldn't regret giving her a chance.

"You sure are a hard negotiator." 

"I'm sorry, what?" She sounded confused.   
"It's just the last person I interviewed asked for more. Tried to negotiate me to two grand a week."

"A thousand is more than I expected. You're already giving us a house to stay in and free range of yours. What more can I ask for?" Jenna replied. 

"Don't sell yourself short. You always deserve more than you expect." He caught her eye and this time she didn't look away. "Now on to the other stuff. I'm sure you looked over the planner my last assistant used. He planned the summer out for me before he left, so we'll just go over that." 

Jenna pulled out the planner and flipped it open to the current week. "You are free until Monday when you have a meeting with your agent at his office at two. Tuesday you are meeting with your trainer at the gym at seven in the morning, then a meeting at 2 with the director and cast of Captain America 3." She looked up at him. 

He put his finger up to his lips, "Shhh...Don't tell anyone about that one. Things are still kind of under wraps."

Jenna pressed her lips together and made a locking motion with her fingers. "Secrets safe with me, Cap." She smiled. 

He laughed deeply. "Anyways, what's next on the agenda?"

"Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is the gym again same time, seven. You also have some post production work to do for the Avengers. Then there's a dinner party Saturday night at Chows?" 

"Yep, that all sounds about right. Now if you'll come with me. I'll take you around town and show you were the bank, stores, those kinds of things. "

"Should I get Jack?" She asked, having to take 3 steps for his every 1. She stopped in front of the extra seating room; Jack and Robbie were engrossed in a video game, while Molly, the girl she had met at the beach, looked on. 

"Naw. He'll be okay. I hired Molly for the time Robbie is here. By time he goes back to Boston, Jack should be back in school." He peered in the room over Jenna. "Hey boys, be good for Molly. Jack, me and your mom will be right back. I'm just going to show her where everything is in town." Jack looked at Jenna with narrowed eyes.

Jenna went over to him, "I'll be back. Be good, please." Jack nodded and shrugged off her hug. 

"He'll be fine. I promise." Chris said and walked out to the garage. He clicked a remote and the garage doors opened. He ran over to the passenger side of the car and opened it for her.   
"Thank you." It had been a long time since a man had opened her car door for her. James had never done it for her. 

Chris pulled out of the drive and down to the gates. "Oh you'll need the gate codes as well." He punched in the four digit code." It's kind of corny. It's 1941, the first appearance of Captain America in the Marvel comics."

"It's fitting though. I'll remember that one easily." Jenna scanned the street, expecting to see James in his black truck. She pushed away her sudden fear and turned her full attention to the man behind the wheel. There was absolutely no doubt he was an attractive man. His hair was thick and a rich chocolate brown. She noticed he had a habit of grabbing his chest whenever he laughed or while he was driving. He looked like he would be a nice friend if things were different. Right now he unnerved her. She was waiting for him to call her bluff on everything. 

"Do you have any family, Jenna?" He asked navigating the same curvy streets she had yesterday. 

"No." She looked over at him briefly before lowering her head again. 

"Really? What happened?" He asked with immediate sympathy. He was so close to all his family he couldn't imagine not having any.

"My mom died of cancer when I was four. When I was 18 my dad had a heart attack while he was on the road. Two months later my brother had one too." She shrugged but he could hear the pain in her voice.

"That's awful. What did you do after that?" He asked. 

"I got married." She said quietly. 

"Oh." He quickly changed the subject. "Here's the market I use over there. You don't have to cook for me. I'm on a strict calorie rationed diet while I'm training. So unless it's chicken or fish. I can't really eat it. I do sneak pasta or pizza every Friday. That's another secret you'll have to keep for me."

"I'm good at keeping secrets." She replied looking over at him briefly. 

I bet you are sweetheart, he thought soberly.


	6. Chapter 6

Carly had lunch waiting for them when they got back. Chris turned it down, saying he needed to go the gym and make up for the time lost. His sister shot him an exasperated look and he gave her another back. Jenna envied how they were able to communicate without talking. She wondered if they had always been that way. 

It was a simple lunch of some sandwiches and a salad. The boys had quickly taken their food to the back so they could continue playing their video games. Alone with Carly, Jenna felt embarrassed and self-conscious. Despite her friendly and kind demeanor, Jenna was sure she would find fault with her in some way. Then she would tell Chris and he would tell her it wasn't going to work out after all and could she please leave now. She took small bites of her roast beef and cheddar sandwich and another small bite of the salad. Her mouth still hurt, especially her lip. She wished it would hurry and heal.

Carly watched Jenna take the little bites of food and watch the door. She could feel the fear radiating off her in waves. Chris mentioning their cousin Laura brought back memories Carly thought were long buried. How could something that happened to them as kids still impact them so much now. Laura had been their uncle's oldest daughter. Laura married Leland when Carly was 10 and Chris was 8. She still remembered the short man with bright red hair and an even redder mustache. No one knew Leland was hitting Laura until she showed up at their house one night with two black eyes. Carly forced herself to stop thinking about that and think about the present. 

"Do you think you'll like it here?" She finally asked breaking the silence. 

"I hope so." Jenna swallowed quickly and coughed. She took a long drink of water. 

"It must be a change from Arizona to here." It was small talk. Something to fill the time. What she really wanted to ask was how she got so banged up, even though she knew the real answer. It was some kind of morbid curiosity that propelled her to do what she did next.   
She placed a hand over Jenna's. "You know you're safe here."

Jenna snatched her hand back as if she had been scalded. Her eyes filled and she sat in silence, staring at her plate. She would rather die before she cried in front of this stranger, no matter how kind she seemed. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Carly trailed off. She hadn't meant to offend her. She just wanted to know. Had wanted to know since Laura, what happened in those kinds of relationships. "I just hate to see you acting so scared."

"It's okay. I'm used to it, the pity, the looks of she got herself beat again. Why doesn't she just leave? They all say the same thing, what is it about women like you? "Jenna spat the words out. She was tired of always staying quiet, accepting the pity. 

"Don't take offense, please, Jenna. I really just want to understand." Carly said.

"Maybe I don't even understand." She avoided looking at Carly. "I'm going to the guest house. Please send Jack over when he's done with lunch. "

Tears struck in her throat she hurriedly walked to the guest house. She waited until she was behind closed doors before she let the torrent of tears come. 

Sweat poured down Chris' back as he ran on the treadmill. With each thump of his shoes across the conveyer belt, it took his mind that much further away from Laura. Jenna. He didn't know why she reminded him so much of his cousin. They didn't look alike. Laura had been tall, with curly black hair, and distinctly Italian features. Jenna was almost the complete opposite. Jenna was short, not quite 5 feet tall. Her hair would probably have been brown he thought were it not for that horrid brassy red color. He expected she was pretty when her face wasn't all banged up like it was.   
Thinking of Jenna's husband hitting her, busting her lip, blackening her eyes made him run faster. In his mind he saw his cousin, her nose breaking, her bleeding face. He stopped only when his legs felt like they were going to fall out from under him. All he could think of was that this had been one colossal mistake. One that was going to cause him to dredge up all sorts of unpleasant memories.

Jack had thrown a horrible temper tantrum as soon as he got back to the guest house. He screamed and stomped at Jenna. Why couldn't he stay and play with Robbie? She was so mean to him. He wanted to go back home. He hated her for taking him away. Jenna ignored his rants and made him go to bed early. He had cried for over an hour and was finally asleep. 

She heard the knock on the door and glanced out the window to see Chris. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black V-neck sweater over a white t-shirt. She cracked open the door, "Do you need me for something?" 

Chris shook his head no, "Tonight's Carly's last night here before she heads back to Boston. We're going out to dinner. I wanted to invite you and Jack to come with us." 

"No thank you. Jack's already asleep." She was short with her answers and this time she looked at him defiantly. 

"Oh, okay." He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Carly told me about what happened at lunch." 

She swallowed hard. "Yes." If he was going to fire her, she wished he would get it over with. She could pack their things and then they would leave. 

"I'm sorry. She didn't mean anything by it. "He paused and wished she would open the door more. It felt awkward talking to her through a crack in the door. "You just...You being here has reminded her, I mean us of our cousin. " There he had finally said it. 

"I'm sorry." He hated the way she said I'm sorry. There was nothing for her to be sorry for, but the words came out of her mouth constantly. 

"No reason for you to be sorry. Listen, I'm leaving for dinner. We'll be back around 10 or so. I'll lock the house up, but if you need to get in, the code for the alarm is the same as the gate. We'll talk tomorrow morning, okay?" 

"Okay," She said softly, looking away from him again. She shut the door as he walked away. She would pack tonight and be ready to leave in the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

He was awake again, at 2 in the morning. Every night since he could remember he would wake up at this time. It used to be that he thought it was insomnia, jet lag from his non-stop travel, but it continued even after he was off for months. He glanced out at the guest house; in the darkness he could see the glow of the TV. He wondered what kept her awake. Throwing on a some sweats and a pair of tennis shoes, he jogged out there. Softly he knocked on the door. 

"Jenna, it's me. "He whispered loudly. The door opened and she stood there in front of him. Her robe wrapped around her tightly. 

"Yes." Her voice was husky and full of tiredness. 

"I guess neither of us can sleep tonight. Can I come in?" He waited for her to invite him in.

She opened the door wider, and motioned for him to come in. "It's your house. You could come in anyway."

"No, it's yours. I'm not just going to barge in without an invite from you." He sat down on the couch. 

"Can I get you anything to drink? I always drink hot coco when I can't sleep." She moved quietly through the kitchen.

"I'd love some, thanks." 

She fixed their drinks and brought it back to him. She curled up on the other end of the couch, about as far away from him as she could get. "Am I fired?" 

"Fired? No!" He said a little too harshly and he saw her flinch at his tone. "I didn't mean to scare you. No, you're not fired. What would give you that thought?" 

Jenna shrugged, "What happened at lunch with your sister."

He blew on his mug of hot coco and took a sip. "I wouldn't fire you over that. You have the right to your privacy. Carly likes to help, it's in her nature. If anything she should be apologizing for making you feel uncomfortable. "

There was a long silence as the two of them sat, drinking the hot coco. "Why do I remind you of your cousin?" She whispered. 

Chris sighed, "Laura was in an abusive marriage. "He couldn't get the words out, he tried to force his mouth to form the words, but they wouldn't come out.

Jenna said it for him, "He killed her didn't he." It was more of a statement than a question.

He nodded. "When you showed up here. Looking like you do, "he gestured at her face. "My first thought was of my cousin."

"Is that why you didn't want to hire me?" 

"It was like dragging up old history. Dirty little secrets you want to forget."

"Everybody's different you know. Even us women who get beat are different from each other. "She took a drink of the coco, burning her tongue. It kept the tears from falling. 

"Please don't get offended by me or Carly. All we've ever wanted to do was understand. We were just kids when it happened. No one wanted to tell us what happened. No one talked about that kind of thing back then."

"They don't talk about it now either." She said. 

He sat down his mug and scooted closer to her. He was relieved when she didn't immediately pull away. "What I don't understand is why she didn't just leave?"

"Maybe she felt like she didn't have a choice."

"But she did, Jenna. She had family who loved her, who would have helped her. Why did she go back?" His voice cracked with emotion.

"Because she probably loved him too." Jenna glanced over to see his expression, but could only see the outline of his face from the TV. It didn't matter to her anyway. That was what was good about the nighttime. You didn't care about those kinds of things like you did in the morning, because the darkness hid everything. 

"Did you...do you still love him?" Chris asked gently.

"I don't know. I did, I guess. Before he started..." She swallowed hard. "I was only 18 when I met him. I felt like I didn't have anybody in the world after my dad and brother died. He was so nice at first. If I had just been smarter he wouldn't have been able to do this to me. 

"18 is too young. And you are smart. Smart enough to leave him." He touched her hand in the darkness and she didn't pull away. 

 

He stayed with her until she finally fell asleep. She had curled up like a small child on the couch, barely moving when he placed a blanket around her. The sun wasn't quite up yet when he walked back into his kitchen. 

"You're late for curfew, young man!" His sister said from the kitchen table. He jumped, startled and glared over at her. 

"Damn it Carly! I'm too young to have a heart attack!" He grabbed his chest mockingly. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to her. 

"Sorry. Not sorry." She said teasingly. "Is everything okay with Jenna?" 

He nodded. "I wanted to tell her about Laura. I know they aren't even alike, but I can't stop comparing them. I wanted to ask her why she stayed. I thought maybe I would be able to understand why Laura didn't leave." He was reluctant to bring up the ancient history with his sister again. Hadn't they been through enough when it happened? 

"It's because you like taking care of people. You really think you are Captain America and can save everyone."

"I honestly hadn't thought of Laura in years, until she showed up. Do you think her real name is even Jenna? I didn't ask for her I.D."

"I don't care if it is. I just wish I could do something about her hair. Poor girl looks like she took a butcher knife to it. And that brassy color looks awful on her." 

"Don't we sound bitchy and snobbish this morning?" Chris accused. "Wasn't it you who bleached her hair orange using Sun In one summer. You looked like Pippy Longstocking's long lost sister." Chris ducked as his sister slapped at him. 

"I have to be at the airport in an hour. Do you want to take me?" Carly got up and put her cup in the sink.

"Sure. Just come get me in the office when you're ready." He stood up and Carly grabbed him in a hug. 

"Don't think about Laura so much, Bub. Jenna's going to work out for you. Just don't let the past get in the way. "


	8. Chapter 8

Jenna woke up with a start. The last thing she remembered was talking in the darkness with Chris. Talking about those dark things that you can't or don't want to talk about in the daytime. She was still wrapped up in the blanket he had placed over her. In front of her, Jack sat cross legged, a bowl of cereal in his lap, his attention on the cartoons playing on the TV.

"Hey, Jack. Where'd you get the cereal?" 

Jack slurped up the sugary cereal. "Mr. Chris brought it. He told me to let you sleep. He said he was going to the airport and would be back." He glanced up at her and smiled. "I did good, being quiet, huh, Momma?"

Jenna kissed the top of his head, "You did real good, sweets. I'm going to take a shower. You continue being that good boy for me."

After her shower, she looked at her face. Her lip wasn't swollen anymore and the split had healed up, whatever Chris had put on it had worked wonders. She still had a nasty bruise around both eyes, but it looked much better than it did a few days ago. She had been gone almost five days. James had no doubt gone crazy by now looking for her. Even though she knew it was impossible, she still worried he would find her and Jack.   
She opened her makeup bag and started caking the concealer around her eye, trying to mask the bruises. As she did she remembered the first time James had hit her. They had been married two weeks when he slapped her, sending her head snapping to the side. Her ears had rung from the impact.  
Her crime? She'd come home late from her first day at college. He accused her of cheating on him. No guy had ever hit her before. But what was she to do. It wasn't like she had a family to run back to. He'd apologized immediately, begging her to forgive him. That he just loved her so much that the thought of her being with someone else drove him to it. She dropped out of college, hoping that would appease him, but it didn't matter. He found fault no matter what she did. 

"Momma! Robbie's back. Can I go play?" Jack knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hold on. " She called through the closed door. "Let me get dressed and I'll go with you." She quickly dressed in a pair of khaki cargo pants and a t-shirt. She was running out of clean clothes. Not that she had taken very many for herself. Eventually she would have to buy some more. She hoped she could find a thrift store; otherwise she would be using the washing machine daily. 

Jenna followed behind Jack as he ran to the back door. He flung it open before she could tell him to knock first. Inside Chris was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. "Jack went back to play with Robbie." 

"I'm sorry Jack barged right in. He won't do it again." She apologized.

"It's okay. This home is yours too." God, how he hated hearing her apologize. "You don't have to apologize all the time, you know? If you do something wrong, I'll let you know. "

"Sor...." She stopped herself. "Okay." She fixed herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with him.

"Molly's going to take the boys to the beach today. It's okay that Jack goes, isn't it?" 

"Are you sure it's not going to be too much trouble for Molly?" Jenna didn't want to trouble Molly with watching two hyper young boys or take advantage of the nanny Chris was paying to watch Robbie. 

"It's fine. Molly's trained as a nanny. She's used to watching several kids at once." Chris said more sharply than he intended. He watched her shrink back in front of him. 

"Jenna, "His voice was soft. "Look at me, please. "Jenna glanced up and away. Instead she busied herself with fixing a cup of coffee. First the two spoons of sugar, then coffee, and a splash of cream.   
Molly came bustling through with Robbie and Jack on her heels. "We'll be back around evening. I plan on wearing these boys out today." She pulled some waters, fruit, and some sandwiches out of the fridge." If she noticed the mood between Jenna and Chris she didn't give it away. She smiled over at Jenna. "I put Jack in a pair of Robbie's trunks. They're the same size. And don't worry, I'm trained as a lifeguard, and current on my CPR and first aid."

"Thanks for taking Jack." She said as Molly herded the boys out the door. Molly smiled again and waved as they left.   
"So..." Jenna sat down at the table and hoped that Chris would forget what he was going to say before Molly came in. "What do you need me to do today?" She had brought over his planner and opened it. 

Chris handed her an IPhone. "This is the old phone my last assistant used working for me. It's got all the contacts you'll need. Plus it has a calendar with alerts that are pretty useful. You won't have to use the paper planner so much."

"Thanks." She replied, placing the phone next to the planner. "I'm kind of old school and still like using the paper planner. "

Chris smiled, "Honestly, I do too. I hate all this technology stuff. It's Twitter this, Facebook that, be sure to Instagram this picture. Everything is so out there now days. It's like you have no privacy at all." He said with a deep sigh. 

"I understand. You give so much of yourself that sometimes you just want to keep some things private. You want to go out in public and not have 50, 000 pictures of yourself show up on the internet."

"Exactly!" He slapped a hand across his chest. The last time I went to Whole Foods, there were a hundred pictures of me buying mangos all over the internet!"

"Why are people fascinated by you buying groceries?" She asked with a chuckle. 

Chris shrugged. "I wish I knew. I guess it's part of the, "he made quotation marks with his fingers, "Look, celebrities, they're just like us!" They photographed me pumping gas. Gas, for god's sake!" Again he grabbed his chest. 

"Is your chest hurting or something? You keep grabbing it like it's about to run away or something. I can assure you, it's firmly attached." 

He erupted with laughter and grabbed his chest again. Catching himself he erupted in more laughter. "I keep grabbing it because even I can barely believe I have pecs this big."

Jenna tried not to laugh, but it bubbled up out of her. Soon she was doubled over, laughing so hard she thought she would pee herself. "You okay, there, doll?" He was glad to see her smiling and laughing for once. 

She nodded at him, barely able to speak through her laughter. It felt good to laugh. Finally when her laughter subsided and she could finally speak again, "You really should do comedy. You're a natural." She didn't dare take a sip of her coffee for fear that he would make her laugh again. How bad would it be to spew her coffee all over his face? Absolutely mortifying! 

"I've done some comedic roles, a few rom-coms. Have you never seen Not Another Teen Movie? "

Jenna shook her head. "I really haven't seen too many movies. James always chose what we watched, so I'm a little...well, really behind on my pop culture."

"Please tell me you've seen Braveheart?" He looked at her hopefully.

Jenna bit her lip and shook her head. "James didn't like those historical true story type movies."  
Chris jumped out of his seat and grabbed her hand. "Come with me. We have to remedy this right now. We are going to watch Braveheart, then Not Another Teen Movie, and then every other movie you have missed out on."   
"Don't you have work to do? There must be something you need to be doing rather than updating me on movies?" She followed him to the back of the house. "Isn't there something you need me to be doing? I'm going to feel guilty watching movies while you pay me to work." 

He led her back to the large sitting room where the boys had been playing video games. "Have a seat and I'll put the movie in." He opened up a large dark wood cabinet, inside were top to bottom DVDs. He quickly found the movie he was looking for and put it in one of the electronic devices. Soon a Scottish accented voice filled the room, "I shall tell you of William Wallace, "Chris sat down on the couch beside her and pushed the buttons on another remote. The curtains lowered, filling the room with darkness, the only light coming from the TV.

It had been a long time since Jenna had watched a movie with someone other than Jack or James. Usually when she watched a movie with James she was anticipating James' every want, constantly getting more popcorn, or another beer, or whatever else James wanted. They never went to the theater to see a movie. James refused to pay $10 dollars to see some movie he might not like. Once when he was in one of his sweet moods, he let her pick a movie to see. He made them leave 15 minutes into it because it had subtitles.   
She glanced over at Chris who was intently watching the battle scene playing out on the screen. Even though he had been nothing but kind and nice to her since she arrived, she still found herself nervous around him. Or any man for that matter. Since James, she didn't understand men, didn't know or understand what they wanted from her. She knew deep down that James was the exception, that most men, decent good men, would never hurt her like he had. She still found it hard to trust them or relax. Her body seemed to be in a constant state of fight or flight. 

"So what did you think?" Chris asked as the credit rolled. 

Jenna nodded enthusiastically. "I can't believe I've never watched this movie. I loved it. Thanks for showing it to me."

"I can't believe you've never seen it! You're not that much younger than me. I was in high school I think when it came out." 

"I really never had the time to watch movies when I was in high school. My dad always needed my help running the family business." Jenna replied. 

"You never dated or anything like that? "

Jenna looked away from his intense stare. "Wow. It's already noon. Would you like me to fix lunch for you? I'm a pretty decent cook." 

"Umm. Yeah." Chris knew she was avoiding talking about her past. "I have a chef come over once a week and make up my meals for the week." He got up and motioned for her to follow him to the kitchen. "It's all labeled for me. All you have to do is heat things up." He got out the one labeled LUNCH TUESDAY. 

"That sounds easy enough. Don't you want some fresh stuff though? I mean not knocking your chef but I can make your meals for you if you tell me what you can and can't eat." 

Chris took a seat at the bar across from the stove. "Can you really?"

Jenna pushed her hair back from her face, "Yeah. I used to cook a lot for my dad and brother. Not so much after I got married. James was very picky about his food."

"Who cooked for you guys then?"

"His grandmother. She would come over at 5 in the morning and cook everything, food for lunch and dinner. If James was awake that early, she would even fix him breakfast." 

"Wow." Chris said softly and rubbed a hand over his beard. He watched her as she cooked the chicken breasts, adding some lemon juice and a touch of garlic. While the chicken was heating up, she chopped up some cilantro and added it to the white rice. In another pan she heated some oil and added a variety of mixed vegetables. Sweet peppers, some zucchini, and other bright vegetables went into the pan, along with a couple of splashes of soy sauce. She moved around the kitchen as if she were dancing with an unseen partner. She looked so at ease that he didn't want to speak for fear of breaking that peace.

When she was done she plated it and handed it to him. Wolfang Puck couldn't have presented him with a prettier plate of food. "I hope you don't mind that I mixed it up a bit. It looked a bit boring and sad in the tray."

"No...This is amazing!" 

"I'm glad you like it. I hope I didn't add something that will throw your diet off." 

"Here, you have some of this too." He pushed the plate over to her and held out his fork. 

Jenna shook her head. "Oh no. I'm still good from breakfast. I'll have something later." She bit down on her lip. She was still waiting for him to find some kind of fault with her cooking. "I didn't throw your diet off then?" She asked again.

"No Jenna. This is perfect." He could hear the desperation in her voice. She wanted to be assured that she hadn't messed up. "Thank you. Do you think you could do that for all my meals?"

She pushed her hair back from her face again, "Yes, of course. Just let me know what you can't eat and I'll fix them for you." 

"Make enough for us all. You and Jack too." He finished the food from his plate and rose to take it to the sink. 

"I'll get that for you." She held out her hand.

"I can put my own plate in the sink. I'm not a complete slob." 

Jenna began cleaning up the pots and pans from the meal. "Is there anything you need me to do today? I feel guilty not doing anything."

"Trust me, you're doing plenty. I have some errands to run and then I'm going to the gym for a bit. I'll be back sometime around 5."

"Okay. Do you want dinner around that time or later?"

"Don't worry about having dinner ready for me. You can wait and do it when I get back."

"All right. Is it okay if I use the washer? I'm running low on clean clothes." She had her hands in the soapy dish water and she brushed that piece of hair that kept falling in her face away again.

"Yeah, go ahead." Chris grabbed his keys. "Thanks again for lunch, Jenna. I really liked it." He saw her beam from the praise.


	9. Chapter 9

The gym seemed to be the only place where Chris could find clarity. Jenna's face was starting to look better and that helped him to not dwell on Laura so much. Even though he didn't want to think about his cousin his mind drifted there anyway. 

After the first time Laura came to his mom with a black eye, she was back the next month with angry welts across her calves. At the time Chris and his siblings had no idea what was going on. Laura would make excuses for her bruises saying she fell, or that she had an accident at work.   
Laura never let on that Leland was abusive; instead she continued to behave as she always did. Defiant and proud, always with a biting sarcastic comeback to her uncle's good natured joking and full of reassurances to Chris's mom when she was asked about the bruises, the ugly bruises that resembled Leland's fingers around her mid-arm. 

At night Chris and Carly could hear their parent's nighttime talks about what to do for Laura. When would she leave Leland? They used words like restraining order, divorce, words that neither of them really knew about. Chris couldn't understand why someone would hurt his favorite cousin, the one who always brought him comic books when she visited. But Leland had hurt his cousin, ended her life one hot summer night so long ago. Nothing made sense to Chris anymore about that night. He knew deep down that there was nothing he could have done to have saved Laura. He had been just a little kid, but it didn't keep him from replaying the events of that night over and over in his head. Even more now that Jenna had shown up on his doorstep, her face an evident reminder of how he failed to save his cousin. 

 

Jenna cleaned up the kitchen and started a load of laundry. While her clothes washed, she fixed a sandwich and ate at the kitchen table while she went over Chris's schedule for the next month. He was busy non-stop it seemed. Constant meetings with this person or that person, training for the next movie, or doing the talk show circuit to promote the newest movie. She should have recognized him she thought. James had been a fan of the Avengers movie. That made her think of what James was doing right now. Was he looking for her? Or was he finally going to let her go? She shook her head. He was never going to let her go. He would always be there in the shadows, waiting for her. 

When Chris got home he dropped his workout clothes in the hamper. The house smelled of lemons, like it did after the maid had been there. He hoped Jenna hadn't gone to a lot of trouble cleaning up after him. He found her in the living room, curled up with East and reading a book. 

"You cleaned." He said.

Jenna jumped up and quickly, dropped the book. "You scared me." She said.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to sneak up on you." He picked up the book and handed it back to her. Her hands were trembling as she took it. "Thanks for cleaning. You don't have to. I have a maid that comes once a week. Shelby, you met her." 

Jenna nodded." It was just the kitchen. I dirtied it up cooking so I cleaned it for you."

Chris changed the subject sensing that he might have upset her about the kitchen. He was glad she had taken the initiative and cleaned it. The last personal assistant he had did the absolute bare minimum. And even that was giving him too much credit. 

"Do you like to read?" He sat down on the couch and motioned for her to sit as well. 

Jenna took a seat at the far end of the couch, as far away from him he noticed. East though, laid beside her, his big head resting on her lap. 

Jenna nodded, "You have a lot of books, so I guess you do too." Her hand rubbed East's ears, and the dog let out a contented sigh.

"I used to. Now all I have time to read is scripts. Not quite as satisfying as a good novel." He watched in amazement as East soaked up all her affection. East had never been one to cozy up to strangers. His last girlfriend had sworn the dog hated her and blamed the dog for their breakup. If your dog doesn't like someone maybe you shouldn't either was Chris's motto. 

"Oh. I guess that's good and bad." She said. "If you had lots of time to read books, then you wouldn't be working as much."

"What kinds of books do you like to read?" Chris got up and walked over to the bookcase nearest him. 

"I don't know, "Jenna said. "I like all kinds. Ones with good stories I guess."

"My sister really liked this author." He pulled out a book and handed it to her. "It's about a former Amish woman who is now the sheriff in the town. Carly says it a good thriller."

"Thank you. I was just reading the book you had on the coffee table, "The Power of Now." 

"It's a pretty good self-help book. I got into a lot of those for a while."

"Why is that?"

Chris looked away sheepishly. "I have really bad social anxiety. I hate doing press because I feel so uncomfortable talking in front of crowds. I am terrified that I am going to freeze one day and look like a deer in headlights."

"That doesn't go well with being a celebrity, I bet." Jenna sympathized with him. She had hated going out in public with James. He was always making a scene, either yelling at her or yelling at whoever had the misfortune of waiting on them. 

"I'm glad you like to read." Chris said. "Maybe we can read the same book and have our own book club. "

"That would be nice." Jenna agreed. "Reading always let me be in another place for a moment." She remembered James getting angry at her for reading in bed while he was trying to sleep. Even though she had gotten one of those book lights, it was still too bright. He had ripped the book out of her hands, whacked her across the face, and across her head. When he was finished, he tossed the book in the fireplace. "You don't need to read, stupid!" 

"Jenna..." Chris's soft voice startled her back into the present. "It's over now, doll. Whatever you're thinking of."

Jenna shook her head and gripped the book he had given her tighter. "I can't stop it from playing in my head over again. Once it is there, it's never over."

"I know, but they can't..." Chris stopped. "They won't happen again."

Jenna swallowed down the lump in her throat. "I told myself that every time James hit me. When it was over, I'd think, it's over now. He'd apologize; promise not to do it again. But it always happened again." 

"You made a choice and changed things now. It's all behind you and you never have to go back." Chris wanted to reach out and hug her, but he knew she would probably shy away from that kind of contact.

"No, "Jenna said so softly that Chris almost didn't hear her. "I will never go back."


	10. Chapter 10

Jack was full of stories of his day at the beach as Jenna got him ready for bed. "Molly took his to the pier and let us fish off it. I saw a little shark, not a big one, but a baby one," He babbled on. "Molly says her dad has a big boat, and later this summer, we can all go out on it. She said we might get to see some dolphins! She says they like to follow along boats and that they even jump up out of the water."

"It sounds like you had a lot of fun today." Jenna said, pulling back the covers for him to get in bed.

Jack nodded, snuggling down in the bed. "Can I call Daddy and let him know I saw a shark?" He asked sleepily.

Jenna sucked in a breath. "Not tonight, hon. Daddy's probably at work."

"How bout Grandma, she'll be at home?" 

"Let's talk about it in the morning, okay." Jenna tucked the covers around him. "Want me to leave the bathroom light on?" Jack nodded. She placed a kiss on his forehead and cracked the door.  
Jenna knew sooner or later, she needed to have a serious talk with Jack. This wasn't the first time he had asked to call James. She couldn't risk Jack letting James know where they were. If he did, James would stop at nothing to get Jack back from her.   
Sometimes at night while James was at work, Jenna would sit in Jack's room, watching him sleep. It astonished her how different Jack was from both her and James. Jack had a natural fearlessness that neither James nor she had. It awed her, Jack's separateness. I made him, Jenna would think. I made this wonderful little person, who would soon grow up and have his own children. And he would stop being this little boy, but Jenna would forever be his mom. It was Jack that kept Jenna going, that had made her run, that gave her some sort of accomplishment. James could say that nobody would ever love her and that she was nothing but a dumb bitch, but Jack loved her and that was enough for her.

 

Chris lunged awake again. He was drenched in sweat and the sheets were wrapped around his long legs. He had kicked off the covers again. He looked over at the bedside clock. The red numbers glared back at him. 2:55. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face, and touched the back of his neck. He stretched, his back and neck muscles were tight and achy.   
His mind was on Laura again. LauraJenna. The two had become entwined in his mind now. Since Jenna had shown up on his doorstep, all he had done was dream of that night. The dreams were so realistic, so vivid, he could still smell the sticky sweet taffy from the carnival, hear his cousin's screams. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed all of it to go away.

He walked to the kitchen, and glanced out at the guest house. He could see the light of the TV glowing softly out the window. Jenna was awake. He quickly made a carafe of hot coco and grabbed two mugs. 

He didn't even have to knock before she was opening the door. "I thought you'd be coming over." 

"I brought hot coco." He followed her inside. She took a seat on one end of the couch. He sat down and fixed her a cup of coco. 

"Thank you." She blew softly on it and took a small sip. "You've been entirely too kind to Jack and me." 

"You're welcome. Robbie has loved having someone his age to play with. Usually when he is here for the summer, he only has me to hang out with. "

"I'm glad he has Robbie to play with too. It's kept his mind off home and his dad." 

"I've been meaning to ask you about him." 

"What about him?" 

"Have you thought about a restraining order? If you want I can help you with that. "

Jenna shook her head immediately. "No." She said firmly. 

"Why not? It will at least give you some kind of protection." Chris rebutted.

"A restraining order is nothing but a piece of paper. All that will do is make him even more mad. And it will let him know where I am."

"But, it will at least be a paper trail so you can..." Chris stopped talking. Jenna was vehemently shaking her head no at him. "I'm sorry..." he said, "I guess you would know better than I would."

They sat for a few moments in silence. "Tell me about you before." Chris said softly.

"Before?" Jenna asked.

"Who were you before you were married to..." He didn't even want to say his name.

"Oh." Jenna replied, "It's been so long, that I almost don't even know how to answer that question."

"Try? Try and remember." Chris pressed gently.

"I used to like to bake. One time when I was about ten or so, I found this recipe for a German chocolate cake, and since it was my dad and brother's favorite, I wanted to bake it for them. Only problem was the old lady who watched me while my dad was at work, wouldn't let me touch the stove." Jenna pushed her hair back out of her face, and looked over at Chris, who was intently listening. "So I waited until she was watching one of her soap operas, Guiding Light or something, while she was watching it I snuck into the kitchen and brought all the ingredients to my room. I mixed it all up in my room and brought back the pans to the kitchen. I baked the whole thing and frosted it before she even found out. Good thing for me was she didn't have any sense of smell."

"Was it any good?" Chris asked.

Jenna shrugged, "I guess so. No one died from eating it, so that's always a plus." She almost smiled.

"Is that what you wanted to do when you grew up?" 

"No, I wanted to..." She stopped. "You'll think it's stupid." 

Chris shook his head. "No I wouldn't. Tell me. Please." He refilled his mug and hers.

"I wanted to be a librarian. " She buried her face in the blanket. "Stupid, huh?"

"Not if it is something you are passionate about. My parents always encouraged me to follow my heart and do what I love." 

"James thought it was stupid. That I was stupid."

"He's the stupid one!" Chris said a little too loudly.

"Shhhh..." Jenna hushed him. "Jack's asleep." 

"Sorry, but he is. He's the stupid one." Chris said again, and then thought maybe he shouldn't be bashing her husband. "I shouldn't say that. I don't know the guy." 

"You're right though, he is. This one time, I tried complaining to James's mother about how he treated me. I thought maybe she could talk to him, make him stop hitting me or yelling at me. Instead she blamed me, made it out that it was what I deserved. That's just the way marriage worked. To her there wasn't anything wrong with it. Her husband had beat her so James beat me." Jenna lowered her eyes, avoiding Chris's stare. She felt like some kind of freak. He probably thought she was trash, just like James had. 

Chris was quiet. How was he expected to respond to something like that? "You're not stupid, Jenna. That woman was a goddamn fool. No woman deserves to be treated like that." 

"I really don't want to talk about him right now. Thanks for the hot coco, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. Do you want me to make you breakfast in the morning?" She asked. 

Chris gathered up the mug and carafe. "Only if you're awake, around 9. I think I'm going to hit the gym early. Thanks for keeping me company." 

"Welcome. I'll see you in the morning." She closed the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hi bub." Carly said when Chris called her the next morning. He was on his way home from the gym and decided to give her a call. "How's it going with the new girl?"

He sighed loudly. "It's going. She's just so damned..." He stopped. 

"You sound frazzled. Is it really not going well?" 

"It's not that. It's she so damaged, Carly. Like she's been beaten so much she can't even see it. The guy's own mother told her she deserved to be abused! What kind of woman does that?" 

"Abuse is generational." Carly replied. "Are you going to be able to keep her on or are you ready to bail before the two weeks?"

"I'm not giving up. Besides I leave for New York soon. She's a brilliant cook though. She cooked up an amazing lunch and dinner yesterday for me. And she cleaned the house." 

"You're a good person, Chris. Just give her time. It's only been a few days. Has her face healed up?"

"You mean does she still look like she went a round with Mike Tyson? No, her face actually looks better. She's really pretty when she isn't caking the makeup trying to hide bruises. "

He could hear Carly's disapproving look from over the phone. "What?" 

"Not a good idea, Christopher. She's got too much baggage for you to handle."

"What? I said she looked pretty. Not that I want to date her. She's my personal assistant, someone who works for me."

Carly clucked her tongue. "I know you, Christopher Robert. You say this and then the next thing I know you are dating her. Tread carefully, brother." 

"I gotta go, Carly. I'll talk to you later." He hung up before she could say anymore. 

 

By the time Chris got back that morning, she had written out his schedule for the next week, leaving room for any adjustments he might need to make. Shelby had offered to clean the guest house, but Jenna told her no, that she could do it herself. It felt odd to have someone come pick up after her and Jack.

As usual, Chris dropped his gym bag in the laundry room and whistled as he came into the kitchen. 

"Morning, Jenna." He got a cup of coffee and nodded over at her. As usual East was at her feet, he was beginning to think that East had traded his alliances over to Jenna.

"I waited for you to get back before I started breakfast for you. The boys already ate; Molly took them to the children's museum. You should let me know how much it costs, so I can pay you back for taking Jack." She was talking nervously, and fidgeting around the kitchen, pulling pans out and his containers labeled BREAKFAST.

"Jenna, it's not a problem. I told you last night that having Jack here is great for Robbie." He moved to help her make breakfast. He noticed her hands were shaking as she separated the egg whites into a bowl. "I promise if there is a problem I will tell you directly." 

"Okay." She hated how during the night time she could feel so at ease with him, but when daylight came she was right back being this scared and timid person. One who was afraid with the slightest misstep he was going to throw her and Jack out.

"I'm going to be gone for a few days soon. I have a trip to New York to do some promo work for an indie film I did. Can you make my hotel arrangements for me? I'll show you on the computer how to do it."

"Okay. I'll do it after breakfast." She nodded. "Will Robbie be going with you?" She plated his egg white omelet and handed it to him.

"No, I arranged for him and Jack to go to a summer camp. That is if you don't mind Jack going. I should have asked before. It's just a day camp. Molly will take him and Jack in the morning, and pick them up. It's from 9-5. Robbie went last year and loved it." He talked in between mouthfuls of food. 

"Jack's never been to camp before." Jenna said softly. It really was too kind of him to include Jack in all of his nephew's summer plans. "Thank you for including Jack." 

"It's no problem. I'll only be gone a few days next week." 

"Okay." Jenna made a mental note of everything she needed to take care of before he left on his trip.

"Oh, and we need to talk about your car." He pushed his plate away and looked over at her. "Is it in your name or his?" 

Jenna busied herself with rinsing his plate and loading the dishwasher. "It was supposed to be in both of our names, but I don't think it was. James never told me about those kinds of things." 

Chris nodded. "I can take care of that for you. But for now, just pull it in the garage and use one of mine. The keys are in the office."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Jenna asked. 

Chris shrugged. "Because you're a nice person. " He stood up from his chair and walked towards her. For a moment he saw her visible flinch and pull away. "You're a nice person, Jenna. You deserve someone being nice to you." He reached out and touched her arm. "No one here is going to hurt you, doll. No one is going to hit you, or yell at you. "

"Okay." She said softly and kept her eyes on the ground. 

"Another thing. The fourth of July is coming up. Usually I go back to Boston, but this time my family is coming in for the holiday." 

"Oh, that'll be nice for you." Jenna again busied herself with cleaning the kitchen. 

"There'll be a lot of us." Chris started counting off on his fingers. "Me, you've met my sister Carly, my brother Scott, Mom, my other sister Shana, you, Jack and Robbie, maybe a few more." 

"Oh, me and Jack don't want to intrude on your family gathering." Jenna began, but Chris cut her off. 

"Nope, I won't hear of it. You're part of this household." Chris said firmly. 

"Thank you. That'll be really nice." Jenna thought back to the last family gathering at James's brother's house. Both had gotten drunk and then got into a fist fight in the front yard. "I could help out on the cooking, if you'd like." 

"That'd be great, Jenna. My mom and sisters usually do all the cooking. You'll like my mom, I think. She's a real sweetheart." 

"I'm finished cleaning the kitchen. Can you show me how to book your trip accommodations now?" Jenna liked it better when she was doing something work related. It made her feel less self-conscious being around Chris. 

It was pretty simple really. Chris had specific accounts for the airlines, the hotels, rental cars. All Jenna had to do was enter in the dates and book the flight and hotel stay. She was even able to send his plane ticket to his IPhone.

Chris had been patient with her, and never once criticized or belittled her while he showed her how to navigate his online presence. Yes a lot of the times, it was actually him sending out something on Twitter or posting a picture on Instagram, but other times it was one of his managers or his assistant who would tweet out a premier or talk show appearance.

"Thank you for showing me how to work all that stuff. I guess I really should know how to use a computer. I just never had the time to learn after I got married." Jenna shut down the computer and made more notes in the paper planner.

"You guys didn't have a computer at home?" She truly had been isolated from the outside world. 

Jenna shook her head. "James didn't like them, so we didn't have one. Occasionally I would use one when I took Jack to the library, but that didn't happen often. James kind kept us away from a lot of people." 

"You could always take a class. The junior college here has adult learning courses." Her bruises were fading to a light yellow, sickly green color. 

"I guess so." 

"Don't be afraid to start living your life, Jenna." Chris started. 

"I don't know how to be anything but afraid. It's all I've known for the past almost ten years. How am I supposed to move forward when I'm always afraid?" 

"You're already moving forward, doll. You just have to take it one step at a time."


	12. Chapter 12

"I'll be back in two days. This is just a short promo thing I have to do." Chris shoved a pair of running shoes in his carry- on bag. 

"Okay. I have the list you made. Anything else you need me to take care of while you're gone." Jenna watched him toss in more clothes. Her hands itched to go over and fold the clothes he was so sloppily putting in his bag. "I can do that for you." She finally said. 

"Nope, I'm almost done anyway." He put his laptop on the top of all his clothes and closed the bag. He looked around the room. "I always feel like I am forgetting something."

"I'm sure you remembered everything." Jenna walked around the room, closing the dresser drawers he'd left open and turning off the closet light and closing the door. 

Chris smiled watching her go behind him, closing drawers, and fixing the things he'd messed up in his room. "Oh, before I forget," He pulled an envelope from his back pocket. "I won't be here for your payday. So it's a little early." 

"Thank you, "Jenna opened it up and saw the huge stack of one hundred dollar bills. There were 15 of them. "You've overpaid me. This is way too much." She started to hand it back to him. 

"No, it's the right amount. We agreed on a thousand a week, but you've cooked and cleaned for me." He shook his head. "I paid you cash so you don't have to wait for a check to clear. You can go open your account and still have some cash on hand."

Jenna put it in her back pocket. "Thank you. Really, thanks a lot." That was the most money Jenna had ever had. Feeling the weight of the cash in her pocket gave her some sense of security. Things would be okay now.  
From outside a horn sounded. "That's the car to take me to the airport." Chris picked up his bag and headed for the door. 

"Have a safe flight." Jenna walked him out. "Don't worry about things here."

"I'm sure you'll take care of everything for me." He started to reach out and give her a hug, but at the last minute he just squeezed her arm gently, relieved when she didn't flinch or pull away. "I'll give you a call tonight to check on things."  
"Okay," She waved as he got in the car and watched as it pulled away. As he did, Molly came in, juggling her large bag, and a drink tray with coffees and a bakery bag. 

"Morning Jenna!" Molly was forever cheerful, always with a huge smile on her face. Even when Robbie and Jack were both acting like little wild men. "I brought you a Frappuccino and these yummy cranberry orange scones. "

"Thanks Molly. The boys are outside with East." Jenna noticed how cute Molly always looked. Somehow she always looked so put together while Jenna looked down at her second hand jeans and faded t-shirt and felt embarrassed. "You wouldn't happen to know where I can get a haircut, would you." Jenna knew her hair looked a mess. 

"Are you going to get a cut today?" Molly asked. 

Jenna nodded and looked ashamed. "I know my hair looks terrible."

"I know just the person!" Molly said excitedly and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed a number quickly. "Jeremy, hey, it's Molls. I have a hair emergency! Can you fit in my friend today? "Molly nodded and then wrote down something. "Thanks hon! Talk to you later!" 

"My stylist Jeremy can see you at 11." Molly handed her a piece of paper with the appointment and address. 

"Is it going to be expensive? I don't want to spend a lot of money on my hair." 

"My treat, okay! You're going to look fabulous when Jeremy gets done with you." 

Were people always this friendly and nice Jenna wondered? "T...Thank you. "She stammered. 

 

Jenna found the salon fairly easy. Well, it was easy due to the high tech GPS Chris had in his Range Rover. She almost walked out when she went in. The place was fancy. Too fancy for the likes of her. A receptionist greeted her and asked if she wanted a water, cappuccino, or glass of wine. Just water Jenna said and followed the tall blonde girl to a chair in the back.

"Jeremy will be right with you." 

Jenna sat in the chair and avoided looking at herself in the huge wall of mirrors. She felt self-conscious, convinced that people were staring at her fading bruises. She looked over at the front of the salon and saw an amazing looking man with dark skin and neatly styled black hair. He was wearing all black with a silver cross necklace around his neck. He hurried over to her and smiled. 

"You must be Jenna. Molly told me you were in desperate need, and hon, she wasn't kidding." He held up her hair in his hands. "Darling, who did this to you."

At first Jenna thought he was talking about the bruises on her face, ones that she had tried to conceal with makeup. She stammered, "Back home, my friend tried to make me a red head. I cut it a few days ago, kind of in a hurry." She said in a smaller voice. 

"It's just a disaster." He ran his hands through her hair. "But, you've got lots of great thick hair. Medium brown, blonde highlights. Am I right?"

"That's right."

"Here's an idea if you're up for it, "he said, gathering her hair up in his hands. "First we're going to bring the ends up to about here." He laid the side of his hand just below her jaw. "Then we'll take you back to your medium brown and add in some honey highlights. Whatcha think? Are you game?"

"I...uhmm..." Jenna faltered. 

"You'll be gorgeous, sweetie. Trust me. I haven't done a bad cut yet." He smiled conspiratorially at her. 

Jenna smiled back, "Okay, let's do it." 

The cutting took half an hour, and then the color had to stay on for another thirty minutes. She sat down under the dryers while the mixture did its work on her hair. She flipped through an old copy of InTouch magazine and read an article about George Clooney, whom Jenna had not realized had married. There was a small blurb about Chris in the around town section, showing him again, buying groceries at some grocery store. 

She had felt embarrassed asking Molly for a hairstylist. It'd had been a long time since she had her hair professionally done. James had liked her hair long, and then one day he said she should go get her hair fixed up red like some girl in the movies he liked. He wouldn't pay for someone to do it, so she had gotten two boxes of red hair dye and her friend, Tully had done it in her kitchen.   
Her hair soaked up the dye and it turned a bright ugly brassy red. She thought she looked horrible, like some cheap cabbage patch doll. But James had loved it. He grabbed her by her hair and pushed her head down in his lap, forcing himself in her mouth. He had pumped away for what seemed like forever until he'd finished. While she gagged and spit, he laughed and pulled her hair some more, before leaving to go off somewhere with his brother. 

The timer next to her dinged and Jenna jumped. 

Jeremy came over and checked her hair. "All done, sweetie. Let's get you shampooed." He used shampoo that reminded Jenna of sour apple candies she had loved as a kid. He conditioned it and then wrapped a towel around her head. 

"This is going to look fabulous!" He exclaimed and began drying her hair in sections with a round brush; he side parted it and curved it under at the very bottom. He spun her around to see herself in the mirror.

Jenna didn't recognize herself. Her hair was glossy and sleek. Jeremy leaned down so he could talk to her eye to eye. "Hon, don't ever let anyone do that to you again. This is exactly what you are supposed to look like. Someone as petite as you shouldn't have such long hair, you've got an adorable face and a gorgeous mouth I'd kill for. Come back and see me in six weeks for a trim. Molly's already taken care of it. "He smoothed her hair again, and patted her shoulders. 

"Okay, thanks a lot!" She tipped him five dollars and he tucked it in his pocket. "Don't forget to come back and see me in six weeks. Tell Molly hello for me."

She left the salon, surprised at how light and airy her head felt without all the long hair. She felt altogether renewed and almost like she was a brand new person. She stopped at the local bank and opened an account with a few hundred of the paycheck. While in town she found a thrift store and went inside. She purchased a Lego set to replace the one Jack had to leave behind, and found an outfit that she thought would like nice for Chris's fourth of July gathering. She would have to come back when she was certain they would be staying. Just something to give the guest house a personal touch. As a thank you for Molly she bought a big bouquet of pink tulips at the market.

Back home, Molly and the boys were still gone and wouldn't be back until five. She put the tulips in water in the kitchen and went out to the guest house to gather up her and Jack's laundry. She got the first load going and sat down with a bit of lunch. While she sat sipping her iced tea, she thought about all the ways James had hurt her and wondered why it had taken her so long to run away with Jack. She should have known the first time they made love that he was someone who liked hurting her. Although she hadn't been a virgin when they were married, she knew it wasn't supposed to be like that, to hurt like that. He liked to force her legs back so far that it was nothing but pain. Pain and shame. She always ended up with bruises on the insides of her thighs that never got the chance to heal from him. Sometimes he was so rough he made her bleed.   
A lot of the times, after he hit her, because she didn't make his dinner plate right or she talked back, or burned the toast one morning; he would grabbed her by hair and throw her across whatever surface was around, a table, the couch, or on the floor. He'd go at her until she collapsed in tears. She was always thankful that Jack had never walked in on them. She didn't want Jack growing up with those terrible pictures in his mind. But Jack had seen James hit her; he'd heard him shouting and cursing. The good thing was that Jack was still little, maybe with time he would forget. That's all Jenna wanted, for Jack to forget. And to not be like his father.

 

When she came back in the house from putting away her and Jack's clothes, Molly and the boys were back. 

"Oh my god, you look gorgeous!" Molly exclaimed and smiled even wider than usual. "I told you Jeremy was wonderful. Do you like it?" 

Jenna smiled back and nodded, "I love it. I got you the flowers as a thank you." Jenna gestured at the pink tulips. 

"Oh, hon, you didn't have to do that." Molly picked up the flowers and inhaled deeply. "They're beautiful." 

Jack and Robbie came running into the kitchen with East on their heels, barking excitedly. Jack stopped suddenly and Robbie bumped into him. "Momma, you look so different! Where'd all your hair go?" 

"Do you like it?" Jenna licked her finger and wiped a smudge of dirt off Jack's check. 

Jack nodded, "I do, Momma." He changed the subject quickly. "Look at what I made at camp!" He pulled a handful of drawings out of his bag and then a plastic bottle filled with glitter and small beads. "It's a discovery bottle! You put water and glue and glitter and then you put in little things you like. And then shake it up." Jack shook his up and Jenna watched the blue and silver glitter float around the tiny beads inside. It was beautiful. 

"That's awesome, Jack. What did you make Robbie?" Robbie showed Jenna a similar bottle but his had gold and red glitter and little black and white dice. "Those are great boys. Why don't you put your pictures on the fridge? I bet Uncle Chris will like that for when he gets back."

Jenna made homemade pizzas for dinner. Afterwards the boys made a fort in the bedroom and watched movies until they passed out. Molly left soon after, smiling and clutching her vase of flowers. Jenna cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for bed herself. She had just curled up on the couch with the book Chris recommended when the IPhone he gave her started buzzing. 

"Hello?" Jenna said timidly. 

"Hey, "Chris's smooth voice came over the line. "I didn't wake you, did I?" 

"No, I was just reading." Jennaset the book on the coffee table andpulled the blanket over her. 

"How're the boys? Did they have a good first day at camp?" Jenna smiled at how he was concerned about his nephew and included Jack in that as well. 

"I think they did. They made a ton of picture that they put on your refrigerator. We made homemade pizzas and they made a fort in the bedroom to sleep in." 

Chris laughed deeply, "Sounds like they had a blast. Homemade pizza, huh?" 

"Yeah, my dad taught me how to make them. They're one of Jack's favorites." 

"When I get back you're going to teach me how to make them. I love pizza." He groaned. "Now, I'm hungry. I can't wait until I am done training and can eat real food!" 

"You'll have to wait until your cheat day." She admonished with a laugh. 

"Screw it. I'll just punish myself extra at the gym. I gotta have some pizza when I get back." 

"Okay, I'll get the ingredients and have it ready for when you get back." 

"Sounds perfect. I'll be home day after tomorrow." He was quiet for a moment. "Where are you sleeping?" 

"Umm... The couch in the living room." 

"That couch will kill your back. Go sleep in my bed." He said. 

"I'll be fine, Chris." Jenna protested. "East is curled up with me." She patted the dog's head when he looked up at her. 

"Go get in my bed, doll." He stopped and then laughed. "That sounded really bad, didn't it?" He laughed again and Jenna heard a slapping sound. 

"Are you grabbing your chest again?" She smiled and laughed. 

Again he laughed that deep throaty laugh, one that was contagious and made her laugh. "Damnit, I think you know me too well, doll."

"I'm just a very observant person, that's all." She felt her checks flush whenever he called her doll. Which he seemed to do often. 

"Seriously, go sleep in my bed. Please. I'll feel horrible if you sleep on the couch for the next few days." Chris pleaded. 

Jenna sighed and got up. "Okay. I will." She picked up her book. East rolled off the couch and followed her. 

"You promise?" He asked his voice dropping a volume. 

"Yes. I'm headed there right now." She opened the door to his room. "In fact, I'm opening the door right now, heading to your bed right now. "

"Thanks for the play by play. Now I'll feel better about being gone." He was quiet for a bit and Jenna could hear his light breathing. "I'll let you get back to your book. Tell Robbie and Jack to be good and give East a belly rub for me." 

"I will." Jenna replied. "Good night Chris." 

"Good night, doll. Sleep tight." 

"You too." She waited until he hung up the phone before she did. She let out a long sigh. She felt conflicted and confused. All she had ever known was men who were cruel to her. Except for her father and brother, men had done nothing but hit her and belittle her. Then here comes Chris with his gentleness and kindness and it all threw her into a tailspin not knowing which end was up.   
She got under the covers on his bed, and opened the book again. Hoping that once again, a book would take her away.


	13. Chapter 13

Jenna didn’t know what to do with herself while Jack was away at summer camp and Chris wasn’t around. She tried to busy herself with organizing his schedule and upcoming trips. She took East on a walk around the neighborhood. She went grocery shopping and picked up the things she needed to make pizzas when Chris got back.  
Once again, Jack had asked to call his Daddy or his grandma. Jenna didn’t know how to handle that. If she let Jack call James, he would figure out where they were and would come after them. She knew eventually she would have to file for divorce. But right now, she just wanted to stay hidden away and safe. 

 

It had been so tempting while he was in New York to stop in Boston and see his mom. Being home, sleeping in his old bedroom, and eating his mom’s cooking always grounded him. Helped keep him steady in the wild sea that was Hollywood.  
Most of all he wanted to ask her all those questions about Laura that haunted him. He wanted to tell her how conflicted he felt about having Jenna working for him and reminding him of a past he wanted to forget. But he knew as soon as he called; his mom would know something was wrong. His mom had the uncanny ability to be able to know something was wrong before he said a word. It was if the phone rang differently when something was amiss. 

It was almost compulsively now that he remembered Laura and the events of that night. Each night he would have monstrous dreams from which he’d awaken feeling like the helpless and afraid little boy he had been. After he had been able to slow his breathing and assure himself that it was only a dream, he would lie awake replaying those events in his mind over and over.

Laura had moved to Gloucester away from Leland everyone thought. He had begged to go to the shore with her. Finally his mom had caved, but only if Carly went too. Begrudgingly Carly went. There had been a carnival that night. He could still smell the sticky sweet cotton candy air and hear the sounds of the rides and the calls of the carnies, inviting them to try their luck on a game.

His favorite cousin seemed to have evolved into someone he’d never known. She was someone who was permanently in some state of panic or rage. One moment she would hand them some tickets to ride the Matterhorn carnival ride and disappear. Only to come back gritting her teeth and her eyes flashing angrily. The next she would be placing her arms around him and flashing her dazzling smile.  
Seeing how upset his cousin was, he asked Carly to call home and have Dad come get them. “Don’t be such a crybaby. You’re the one who begged to go with Laura. Eat your cotton candy and be quiet!” Carly had admonished him, so he had sucked up his tears and tried to have a good time. 

Back at Laura’s small apartment, she had given the kids her bedroom and pulled the TV in, telling them she would let them watch as many scary movies as they wanted. They only had to promise to stay in the bedroom until morning. Of course they were stoked to be able to watch all the Freddy and Jason their hearts could stand. “Yes Laura!” They had said together. Both knew that the scares would be well worth sleeping with the bedroom light on for the next few weeks. 

They were only half way through watching Nightmare on Elm Street when they heard the yelling start.  
“You’re a fucking useless meathead.” Laura’s voice carried through the walls. Then a lower deeper voice responded to low for them to hear. Chris had started to open the door when Carly grabbed him, “No, Cousin Laura told us to stay in here. Just let them yell at each other and have it out.” 

Goddamit! He hated this, rehashing this part of his life. He wondered if Jenna had dreams and memories that ruined her sleep. Did she too wake up at random hours seeking escape? For a moment he found himself wanting to talk to her. For them both to find comfort in their bad memories.


	14. Chapter 14

Jenna was busy making the dough for the pizzas when the buzzer announcing someone was at the gate sounded. Since Chris’s video system hadn’t been installed, you had to trust whoever was at the gate was who they said they were. It could either be the new landscaper or some tabloid photographer trying to get in the gate.

Jenna pressed the intercom button, “Hello?” 

“Hey, ya fuckin Dorito! Open the gate; I forgot your dumbass code again!” The male voice was laughing. 

“Umm...This is Jenna. Who is this?” Quickly she tried to find the list of people Chris said she should let in the gate. She thought she had put it by the intercom, but it wasn’t there anymore. Damnit! Where had she put it?

“Sorry, Jen. It’s Seb. Tell that Dorito to open the gate or I’ll rip another steering wheel out of his car!” Again that laughter mixing in with his words.

“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t let you in without Mr. Evans prior consent. “Her first time dealing with one of his friends or bosses and she was blowing it completely. She heard him sigh loudly.

“Okay, hold on a minute. I’ll call him.” 

Frantically Jenna tore to the office, desperately trying to find that list of people. The cell phone rang and Jenna’s heart sank when she saw it was Chris calling. She was so upset she could barely get out the hello.

“Go ahead and let that dumbass in the gate. I’m in the car on the way home from the airport. “

“Yes sir.” She babbled out, pressing the button to open the gate. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t find the list of people you gave me. It won’t happen again.” She was talking machine gun fast. Stuttering over her words. 

“Jenna.” Chris said calmly. “It’s okay. Relax. Take a deep breath.” 

She sucked in a deep breath and swallowed down the tears. 

“Now breathe out. You’ll be okay. Just tell Seb, I’ll be home in about 30.”

“Okay.”

Jenna wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as the man came into the house. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you in. Chris gave me a list of approved people and I must have lost it somewhere. “She quickly apologized to the dark haired man who was pulling a beer out of the fridge. 

He turned to face her and she was taken aback by his deep blue eyes. “It’s okay Jenna. It’s nothing to get flustered over. At least you ask, the last person just buzzed whoever in the gates.”   
He took a seat at the bar across from her. “So, what are you busy doing?” 

“Making dough for homemade pizza. Chris said he wanted to have a cheat day.” She kept her head down, concentrating on the dough in front of her. 

“You from around here?” He asked, spinning his beer cap around and around. 

Seb was tall, not as tall as Chris, but still tall and muscular with dark almost black hair. He had a nice smile she noticed peeking up from her dough making. 

She shook her head, “Phoenix.” She wondered if she should be doing this, talking with one of his guests. She imagined Chris storming in, angry from her blunder and for her conversing with one of his friends, and making herself at home in his kitchen. 

“Can I ask what happened to your eye?” He asked softly. 

Jenna looked up again and then back down. She pulled some saran wrap over the bowl so the dough could rise. “I’d rather not say.”

He took another long drink of his beer, still staring at her. “Right. What brings you out this way?” 

“I like the ocean.” She felt awkward talking to him. James was always jealous of her talking to other men. It didn’t matter if it was the guy taking her money at the gas station or his own brother. He always accused her of flirting when she was simply being polite. 

“Me too.” He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and looked at her again. “I’m Sebastian by the way. I know Chris probably called me some name like Weiner Solider. “

“He called you a dumbass” Jenna said with a small smile. 

Sebastian laughed. “And now I’ve just given you my cast nickname. Great!” 

“Why do you call him Dorito?” 

Sebastian started laughing so hard he nearly fell off his barstool. “This is a good one! Some fans on Tumblr or twitter, something like that, all think his torso looks like a Dorito. Specifically his shoulders to waist ratio. Downey trolls Tumblr and found it and then spread it around. So now everyone calls him Dorito. In return he grabs all of our man boobs. “

Jenna smiled and laughed. “Dorito.” She repeated. 

“Are you telling stories again, Seb?” Chris came into the kitchen startling Jenna. She stepped back and watched the two friends greet each other with hugs. 

“I think Jenna needs to know she works for a guy with the body of a Dorito.” Seb laughed and slapped Chris hard on the back. Chris looked over at her and did a double take. 

“You got your hair done. I almost didn’t recognize you for a minute.” 

Jenna felt her checks flame. “Yeah, I went to Molly’s hairdresser.” She said, complimented he had noticed. 

“It looks great.” Chris said. He watched her checks flame even brighter. 

Flustered by his attention and compliments, she changed the subject. “How was your trip?”

“Oh, great. Long flight though.” He got a beer out of the fridge and handed Sebastian another. 

“I got the things to make pizzas tonight.” 

“Sounds great, Jenna. “ He could tell she was nervous around the two men. She kept her head down and barely looked at him or Sebastian. Every once in a while she would look up from her dinner preparation usually when Sebastian asked her a question or she asked Chris what he liked on his pizza or if Sebastian was staying for dinner. The only time he saw her relax was when Jack and Robbie returned with Molly.   
Her whole demeanor changed when Jack was around. It was if he could see the tension and nervous dissolve away when Jack was near her. She attentively listened as Robbie and Jack described their day at camp. He liked watching her around his nephew and her son. She patiently showed each boy how to press out their pizza dough and place the sauce and toppings on so each bite would be filled with deliciousness. 

She waved away his offer to help, telling him to relax and visit with his guest. Multiple times, she brought him and Sebastian new beers. When the pizzas were ready, she brought plates and the piping hot pizza out to the patio. “You’re not going to sit and eat with us?” Chris asked, noticing she had only brought two plates.

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude on you and your guest.” 

“Come on, you have to sit and eat with us.” Sebastian said before Chris could respond. “I’ll feel immensely guilty if you don’t.”

Jenna looked over at Chris. “Join us, Jenna.” He stood up and pulled out a chair for her. “Sit down. I’ll go get another plate. “

“Your son looks just like you.” Sebastian said as she sat down. 

Jenna shook her head. “I think he looks more like his dad. Jack’s got my chin, I think. Do you like kids?”

“Some kids, I guess. I don’t have that much experience with them. I’m an only child. You have any siblings?”

“I had an older brother.” She said softly.

Before Sebastian could ask her more, Chris appeared. “This pizza looks amazing!” Chris said, returning with a plate for Jenna.

Again, Jenna flushed, not used to such compliments. “I hope you like it.” 

“Jenna is one hell of a chef!” Chris said over a mouthful of pizza.

“You like to cook?” Sebastian asked. He was on his third slice of pizza

“It’s relaxing.” Jenna looked over at the dark haired man who was studying her closely. Despite being hungry, she was too nervous to eat anything around the two men. 

“I can barely boil water without burning it. “Sebastian replied.   
Jenna swallowed back a laugh. “Really?” 

Sebastian laughed, “Give me a slab of meat and a grill and I’ll put any chef to shame!” 

“Grilling isn’t much different. It’s still cooking.” 

“Maybe you’ll have to give me lessons.” Sebastian flashed Jenna a smile. 

“I better go clean up the kitchen. “Jenna quickly looked away from Sebastian and Chris. Chris who had been too quiet during dinner. She hoped he wasn’t angry with her for talking too much with his friend. 

“We can’t let you clean after you cooked.” Chris took the plates from her hands. “Come on Weiner Solider, help me clean up. “ 

Sebastian stood up. “ That’s the rule, you cook, you don’t clean up. Go sit down and relax. We’ll take care of it.” 

“Okay.” Jenna had always had to clean up after meals. James had never helped her clean. That was women’s work he would scoff when she would ask. Even when she had been violently ill while pregnant with Jack, James had refused to do anything to help. “I’m going to take Jack to the guest house tonight, okay?” 

Chris nodded in reply. “It’s not the guest house. It’s your house.” 

“Okay.” Jenna quickly walked into the house and found Jack playing video games with Robbie. “Come one Jackie. Let’s go to the house for a moment.” 

Surprisingly Jack immediately listened without argument. He took Jenna’s outstretched hand and followed her to their little house. “Okay, Jackie. I know you want to call Daddy. So, you call him from Momma’s cell phone. But don’t tell him where we are, okay. Please Jack. “ Jenna’s stomach was in knots thinking about him talking to James. She dialed the number and handed Jack the phone. 

She watched as Jack cupped the phone in his little hands, his legs dangling over the edge of the chair, swinging back and forth. Suddenly a huge smile appeared on his face. “Hi Daddy!”

He nodded solemnly and looked at Jenna. “Me and Momma are okay. I went to a summer camp this week with Robbie. We got to play at the beach! I made….” Jenna shook her head at him. She didn’t want to give James any clues. Jack handed the phone to Jenna, “Daddy said he wants to talk to you.” 

Jenna’s heart began to hammer in her ears. “Hello.” She barely whispered. 

“Listen here you fuckin’ bitch. You bring my son back right fucking now! I will hunt you down…” Jenna hit the end button. "Maybe we shouldn't call Daddy, maybe Grandma next time." She could see the tears forming in Jack's eyes. He nodded back and fell into Jenna's outstretched arms.


	15. Chapter 15

Chris had gone to the gym early the next morning. She found a note in the kitchen asking if she would go to the store and pick up a few things for the house. He left some money and a list of items.   
Molly was taking Robbie and Jack to the beach again, so Jenna could shop alone. Jack had been quiet that morning, too quiet almost. She worried about him. Worried how he would react when the truth finally set in that they would never be going back. Never.   
They were both slowly settling in with Chris, even a little routine had been established. She would wake up, fix breakfast for everyone, or sometimes Chris would already be up and have pancakes or eggs ready for the boys. After breakfast, he would go to his meetings or hang around the house, tossing the baseball with the boys, or reading a new script that had come in from his agent. Jenna liked the normalcy of it all. There was no fighting , or yelling, she could relax, and not worry about doing something wrong, and a slap being delivered unexpectedly. 

She was carrying in a case of water and soda when she was hit in the back with a stream of water. She heard giggling and didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Jack. “Jackson Reid Coulson, when I put this down, I am coming after you!” She tried to make herself sound threatening, but there was no way. She turned around and got hit with three streams of water. A laughing Sebastian, Robbie, and Jackson stood with water guns. 

“Fall back men, fall back!” Sebastian grinned at her and ran off with the two boys trailing behind. 

“As soon as I put these groceries away, I am coming for all of you!” She yelled over her shoulder. 

“I’m so glad you are back!” Molly took one of the cases of water. “Sebastian bought the boys water guns and they have been running around the back yard like maniacs ever since.” 

“I hope Jack hasn’t been much trouble. He has a tendency to get a little….” 

“Aggressive.” Molly filled in for her. 

Jenna nodded and pulled out things for dinner. She was making steak and shrimp fajitas for dinner. 

“He’s a sweetheart. Always wanting to help me, he just has his moments. He’ll grow out of it. Trust me, I’ve seen kids act a lot worse. Divorce is never easy.” Molly looked over at Jenna and frowned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

Jenna waved her hand and continued slicing steak and putting it in the marinade. “It’s okay. We’re separated I guess. I just need some more time.” She knew deep down she needed to do something, file a restraining order, do something other than hide and be scared of him coming after her and Jack. 

The back door flew open and two dripping wet boys and one dripping wet man ran into the kitchen. “Sorry, Jen, Molly.” Sebastian apologized. “I tried to get them to stop first.” Sebastian was trying to wrangle both Jackson and Robbie. He picked one up and threw him over his shoulder and grabbed the other around the waist. “I’ll get these hellions cleaned up.” He smiled over at Jenna. “Dinner’s looking good. Mind if I stay?” He asked. 

“Of course you can stay. There’s going to be plenty.” Jenna threw some onions and peppers into another bowl of marinade. 

“Wish I could stay, but I have to be getting out of here. I’ll see you in the morning Jenna.” Molly gathered up here things and left with a wave bye to Jenna. 

While the steak and shrimp marinated, Jenna cleaned up the mess the boys made. “I was going to do that.” Sebastian said coming back into the kitchen. 

“It’s okay.” She finished mopping the floor. “I wanted to get it cleaned before Chris got home.” She tucked the mop into the closet before returning to her dinner preparations. “Thanks for buying the water guns.” 

Sebastian took a beer from the fridge. “No problem. Your eye’s looking a lot better.” 

“Oh! Yeah, I guess it is.” She put a hand up to her face, and then dropped it. “I heal fast.” She said quietly and then wondered if by saying that was a dead giveaway that she had been hit regularly. 

“So are you divorced or separated?” He asked. 

“Uh, separated.” Jenna concentrated on pulling out the ready-made tortillas out of the package. “You?”

Sebastian laughed, “Never been married. There’s plenty of time, I figure. I’m only 32.” 

“You don’t look like it.” Jenna observed. 

Sebastian smiled. “Thanks. I still get carded whenever I go out. What about you? You don’t look a day over 21.” 

Jenna didn’t know if he was serious or just flattering her. “I haven’t been to a bar in a really long time.” James hadn’t taken her out to a bar in years and she never drank when they went to a restaurant. 

“Really?” He was staring at her. “What do you do when you’re not cooking or running errands for Cappy here?” 

“I don’t know. I like to read.”

“And cook.” He gestured at her.

“Yeah, and take care of Jack.” 

He took a long drink of his beer, “Maybe you’d like to come out for a drink some night.” 

Jenna swallowed hard. Was he asking her out? “Oh, I’m not sure. I wouldn’t want to leave Jack and I work most of the time.” She was nervous at the prospect of going out with someone. 

“Come on,” He said charmingly. “I know Chris will let you off for a couple of hours. Do you like Italian food? I know a great place.” 

The only Italian restaurant she had been to was Olive Garden and that was only once. “Yeah, I do.”

“It’ll be fun. We can even go to a show if you want.” 

“Okay, I’ll ask. “She said quietly. 

“I can give you a call tomorrow and we can set something up.” He drained his beer and tossed the bottle in the trash. 

 

After dinner and Jack’s bath, Jenna tucked him in bed and read him a story. “Jack, how would you feel if I went out one night for a few hours with a friend?” She ruffled his hair with her hand. He was getting so big, soon he wouldn’t want her to tuck him in bed anymore. 

Jack turned his dark green eyes on her. “Where you going?” 

“Just out to eat with a friend.” 

“What friend?” 

“Sebastian. You had fun playing with him today, didn’t you?” 

Jack nodded sleepily. “He bought me and Robbie water guns. The great big ones that hold gallons and gallons of water.”

“Okay. Can I call Grandma tomorrow?” His eyes were beginning to droop closed. 

“Sure.”

“Okay. I like him. He’s nice.”

Jenna tucked the covers around him. He is nice she thought.


	16. Chapter 16

Jenna waited until Sebastian was gone and the dishes had all been washed and put away. Robbie and Jack had made a pillow fort and fallen asleep soon after. Chris was in his office so Jenna braced herself and knocked. 

“Umm.. Chris, can I ask you something?” 

He tossed down his pen and looked up from what he was doing. “Yeah, Jenna. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if I could have a night off or if you could possibly watch Jack for me.” She was wringing her hands. 

“Sebastian asked you out, didn’t he?”

He watched as Jenna lowered her head and didn’t look at him. It made him mad. Mad that she felt as if she was not entitled to a life of her own. “I’m not surprised.” 

“It’s okay. I should’ve just said no right away. I’m sorry.” She turned to leave. 

“You know what you need to do, Jenna?” He stopped her. 

Jenna shook her head, “what?”

“You need to get pissed, to get angry!” 

“Huh?”

“You should be absolutely furious at the way you’ve been treated by people in your life. By that so called husband of yours.” 

“I don’t feel angry. Just really scared. I don’t like it when people get mad at me.” She looked so small standing there in the doorway. 

“Doll, I’m not mad at you. You don’t have anything to be scared of in this house. Ever! I want you to stand up for yourself. In order to do that, you have to be mad at what has been done to you, what you’ve had taken from you and from Jack. “

Jenna nodded. “Okay.”

“Of course I’ll watch Jack so you can go out. Just let me know when.”

“You sure it’s not a problem?”

“I’m sure. Whenever you want some time to yourself, you can take it. All you have to do is ask.” 

“Thank you.” Jenna managed a small smile. 

“Seb’s a great guy. Go have some fun for a few hours.”

 

Sebastian called the next afternoon and Jenna could barely speak. “When’s a good night for you?” 

“Tomorrow night?” She had almost told him to forget it, but then she remembered what Chris had told her. 

“Great. Pick you up at eight?”

“Okay.” She agreed, feeling weak with dread already. 

“I’ll see you then, Jen.” 

Molly was watching her with a smile from across the kitchen. “So what are you going to wear?” 

“I don’t know. I haven’t been on a date in a long time.” Jenna said, wishing that she had just said no. 

“I have a few things I can bring over. We look to be about the same size.” Molly replied. “I can help you get ready for your date.” 

“Thank you. I’d really like that.” Jenna could have never explained just how much she was dreading this date. 

 

The next day Molly came in with arms full of clothes plus two Macy’s bags full of shoes and handbags. “I like to shop. A lot!” She said with a laugh as she dropped all of the clothes on Jenna’s bed.

“Oh Molly, I don’t know if I can take all this. “ Some of the clothes still had tags on them. 

“My dad has a rule, if I buy anything, three things have to leave. So you’re actually helping me. Plus I know you’re going to look gorgeous in this green top.” Molly held up the cotton blouse to Jenna. 

Jenna fingered the soft material between her fingers. It really was a beautiful top. “Thank you.”

“So where is he taking you?” Molly asked, pairing outfits together. 

“I think he said Gravina?” Jenna said trying on a pair of sandals. 

“I love that place! Their risotto with shrimp is to die for.” 

Jenna nodded. The place sounded fancy. Why had she agreed to this again? After half an hour in her company he’d be bored or think she was stupid. Then he’d sit in a brooding silence, drinking his beer, and she would sit tormented, just waiting for the blowup that would come before they even got in the car. He’d start yelling at her, with hurtful words and threats. All while she sat cringing in her seat, knowing he would continue ranting all the way home, when he’d take it all out on her with his fists.   
She kept telling herself Sebastian wasn’t James. But James had somehow become part of every man she encountered. James had taught her well that anger lived just below the surface of most people. 

“What’s wrong, Jenna?” Molly startled her. 

“Nothing, “ Jenna bit down on her lip and looked away guiltily. 

“You’ve got that same look in your eyes you had the day I met you on the beach.” Molly said softly. 

“I was just thinking that maybe I should tell Sebastian I’ve changed my mind.”

“Why?”

Jenna shrugged and sat down on the bed. “I shouldn’t have said I’d go.” 

“Why not?” Molly dropped the sundress she was putting on a hanger. 

“Because. He probably thinks I’m a lot more interesting than I am. I just think it’s a mistake.” 

“I think you’re interesting, and besides you’re allowed to make mistakes. It’s just a first date.”

“I was always making mistakes with James. That’s why he was so mad all the time.” 

“You think Sebastian would get mad at you?” Molly asked.

Jenna nodded. 

“Is it possible that you might find Sebastian uninteresting?” Molly asked. “That you have the right to be mad at someone too.”

“I never really thought of it that way.” Jenna admitted. “I used to get mad at James at first, but then it only made things worse.” 

“We’ve got to break this habit of yours. One, you have every right to stand up for yourself. And two, you need to discover that not all men are like this husband of yours. I can’t imagine that Sebastian is anything like your husband. But if you do find something about him you don’t like, just don’t go out with him again. You’re just going on a date, not getting married.” 

“Okay.” Jenna said softly. She was still doubting the whole thing, but right now she simply wanted the subject dropped. 

“Let’s find you an outfit for tonight.” Molly said as if she read Jenna’s mind.


	17. Chapter 17

Molly chose a mint colored chiffon dress with a white sweater for Jenna. It had been a long time since Jenna had anything that made her feel feminine. And the dress did, along with the makeup Molly had expertly applied.   
She was nervously doing breakfast prep while she waited on Sebastian. Jack and Robbie were watching movies and Chris was half paying attention to her and the other to his phone. He had done a double take when she came in from the back. 

 

Sebastian arrived at eight on the dot. “I’m ready to go. I can’t be out too late. I’ve never left Jack alone before.” 

“That’s fine.” He said, walking her to his Audi and holding the passenger door open for her. “I have an early morning myself.” 

She started shivering, not from the cold but more from nerves. She watched him climb behind the wheel and start the car. 

“Hungry?” He asked with a smile.

“A little.” She smiled back nervously. 

“So how’s it going for you? Think you’ll be staying for good?” 

“I hope I will be.” 

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Chris thinks a lot of you. You do more than any of his other assistants ever did. Everything was too much trouble for the last one.” 

“I like working for him. We talk a lot.” Jenna said.

“That’s great. He needs someone like you.” He smiled over at her. “I’m guessing you need it too.”

“What do you mean I need it too?” She asked guardedly.

“I feel like you’ve had a rough time.” 

Jenna looked out the window and didn’t say anything. 

“You don’t have to talk about, if you don’t want to. I’m a pretty good listener if you do.” 

“I don’t want too.” Jenna said nervously. 

“I understand.” He pulled into a parking space right in front. 

Jenna unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle, but Sebastian had already opened the door for her. She wasn’t used to such treatment and ignored his hand outreached to her. 

It was a beautiful restaurant with cream colored walls and burgundy tablecloths and real cloth napkins. They were given a table in the back near the window. Sebastian pulled her chair out for her and Jenna murmured “Thank you.”

“What kind of Italian do you like?” Sebastian said as they opened the menus. 

“I haven’t had anything other than lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs.” Jenna replied looking over the menu. She hoped her mouth hadn’t dropped open when she saw the prices. Twenty dollars for a salad! 

“How about I order for both us?” Sebastian offered. “I won’t order anything weird, I promise.” He smiled and Jenna nodded, relived she wouldn’t have to. He asked the waiter for a calamari to start. He declined the wine list and instead got them two waters. 

“What’s calamari?” Jenna asked.

“Fried squid.” Sebastian said, catching her expression, he quickly said, “It’s good I promise. Trust me.”

“I’ll try it.” 

“Your son Jack is a pretty awesome kid.” Sebastian said. 

“Yeah, I think so too.” Jenna toyed with the napkin before placing it in her lap. 

“Maybe one weekend I could take you guys to the zoo or something like that.” 

“Why?” 

“Relax, Jen. You don’t have to be so suspicious. I’m harmless. You can call my mom. I don’t have any siblings for you to get a reference from, so she’ll have to do.”

The waitress appeared with her appetizer and Sebastian ordered their main course. “Here, try the calamari with the sauce.”

She did and was surprised at how much she liked it. “It’s really good.” 

“I knew you’d like it.” He smiled happily. “Just wait till you try the main course. You’ll be begging the chef for his recipe.” 

Sebastian was being so nice, she thought. She looked over at him as he dipped a bite of calamari in the sauce and took a bite. Still she wondered what he was like when he got mad. Was he the type who simmered in silence until he exploded or did he immediately start screaming and swinging his fists. He didn’t seem to be the type who did that, but Jenna knew you could never tell. She relaxed a little bit as he made more small talk with her. Maybe this date wasn’t going to be so bad.

 

Chris was on the couch with East curled up next to him and a script in his hands. His agent had sent him the Indie film script. He still had years left on the whole Marvel universe franchise, but he liked going outside the box. 

“Mr. Chris, “ a small voice called out. 

Chris looked up and saw Jack leaning over the side of the couch, petting East. “Hey buddy. Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” He tossed the script on the coffee table and made room on the couch for Jack. 

“Yeah. “ Jack came around and climbed up in Chris’s lap. “When’s my mom gonna be back?” 

“She’ll be back in a hour or so.” Chris told him and smoothed the boy’s silky hair back. “It’s past your bedtime.”

“But I’m not sleepy.” Jack looked up at Chris with big green eyes. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m reading a script.”

“What’s a script?” Jack leaned back against Chris, as he rearranged on the couch to accommodate them both. 

“A script is a written book for a movie.” Chris picked it up and opened it. “See all these highlighted lines.”

“Uh-hunh” Jack ran his finger under the lines. 

“Well those are the lines my character says.” Chris explained. “This book tells each character what to say and what to do.”

“Can we read it together?” Jack asked. 

“Not tonight bud. I tell ya what. I’ll make us some hot coco.” Chris said as Jack jumped on his back for a piggy back ride. 

“I like hot coco!” Jack replied, riding into the kitchen. 

“But right after you finish you have to go right back to bed.” 

“Okay.” Jack agreed as Chris deposited him on a barstool. 

Chris mixed the milk and chocolate together and put it in the microwave. “You having fun with Robbie?” He asked. 

Jack nodded. “He’s funny!” 

The microwave beeped and Chris pulled it out. He stirred it up and handed it over to Jack. “Blow on it. It’s still hot.” 

Jack carefully blew on it before taking a small sip. “You gonna have some too?” 

Chris shook his head. “Maybe later. Now drink up and go to bed. I don’t want your momma mad at me.”

Jack sipped again. “Momma doesn’t get mad. My daddy does though.” 

“He does?” Chris didn’t want to pry, but the little boy kept talking. 

“He gets really mad and likes to smash things up. One time he smashed up all Momma’s plates and then he shoved Momma into the wall.” The little boy said it so nonchalantly that it broke Chris’s heart. 

“I bet that was scary.” He said softly. 

“Uh-hunh. Momma doesn’t cry anymore.” He finished the hot coco and pushed the cup to Chris. “You make good hot coco.” 

“Thanks bud. Now off to bed.” Chris said.

“Hug first.” Jack held his arms out. Chris reached down and hugged him and planted a kiss on the top of his head. The little boy hugged back making squeeing noises as he did and then was off to bed again.


	18. Chapter 18

“Jenna, can you come in here please.” Chris was in his office and didn’t look up when she came in. She felt her heart hammering in her chest. Even though Chris had reassured her that she was doing a good job, she still felt that as if any moment he would pay her off and tell her to leave. 

Chris finished signing a pile of papers and turned his attention to her. “I know we agreed on two weeks trial, but…” he fiddled around with his pile of papers, flipping through them until he stopped and pulled a stack out. “I’m very happy with your work here, so I’d like to ask you to stay on permanently.”

The relief that coursed through Jenna was so immense she felt like she would faint. Her eyes filled with tears that she rapidly tried to blink away. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” 

“I just need you to sign these papers. Work contract and a non-disclosure agreement, an insurance plan.” He pushed the papers over to her. He watched her sign the papers, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you do need to decide what you are going to do about your marriage. I have an attorney you can use.”

“I can’t afford an attorney.” She didn’t want to talk about James.

“Don’t worry about the cost, Jenna.” 

“If I file something, he’ll find us.” Just the thought sent her heart racing. For once she wished he was dead. 

“It’s better than you living in fear all your life. My lawyer can get you a restraining order; you can file and never have to see him.”

“I’m scared.” 

“I know you are.” Chris started to touch her arm and saw her pull away. “I promise you’ll be safe here.”

“I’ll call him tomorrow.” She finally agreed. 

“The fourth of July is next weekend. Can you book my family’s flight from Boston? You’ll need to book four tickets for my brother, and sisters, and my mom. Plus an extra for Carly’s youngest.” He wrote it all down for her. 

“What about your dad?” Jenna asked. 

“My parents got divorced some time back.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” 

Chris waved it off. “It happens. I’ll tell my lawyer to give you a call.” He went back to his paperwork, silently dismissing her and leaving Jenna confused and wondering if he was mad at her.

 

With Chris’s permission she took the next day off and changed her driver’s license and talked to his lawyer. He took down James’s information and within a few days James would be served with divorce papers. The restraining order would be approved the following day. His lawyer, Mr. Dawson, assured her that her husband wouldn’t find her and that she would be safe where she was. It still didn’t comfort her. The last restraining order had only inflamed James’s anger. In her mind, a restraining order was only an invitation for violence. 

With each and every day away from James, she seemed to be able to see him more clearly. For so long James had convinced her that she was stupid, that she wouldn’t be able to survive without him, and that nobody would want someone as stupid as she. But now that she was far away, she found that she was capable of taking care of herself and Jack. From this distance she was able to admit that she hated him, hated how he had turned her from a self-confident woman into a terrified girl. This wasn’t a marriage, this was nothing more than a sick game with James as the ringleader and Jenna as his pawn. He’d been able to scare her into being a victim. She was still scared, with good reason. She might have left him, but James wouldn’t let her get away. 

Later that evening Sebastian came in as usual. He smiled and held out a long stemmed pink rose. “I know it’s corny, but you seem like a traditional roses kind of woman.” 

“It’s beautiful.” She accepted the rose shyly. No one had ever given her flowers. “Thank you.” She smiled back. She breathed in the scent deeply. 

“So how goes it?” He immediately went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. 

“I’m staying on.” She found a small vase and put the rose in it. 

“I knew you would.” He sat at the kitchen table. “Does this mean you’ll let me take you and Jack to the zoo?” 

“I haven’t asked Chris yet?” She admitted. She was unnerved by his invitation for a second date. 

“I already did.” He told her. “He said it’s fine with him.” 

“He did?” She wondered if he had talked about more than just wanting to take her on a second date. 

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Okay.” 

“I can pick you guys up Saturday around one. We can have lunch there too.” He looked up as Chris came in the door. He had been spending a lot more time at the gym Jenna noticed. 

The two men made small talk while Jenna cooked dinner. Lots of their conversation dealt with the upcoming Captain America film. Feeling completely drained by the day’s events, especially having to dredge up her painful marriage to a perfect stranger she begged off joining the men for dinner. Instead she got Jack ready for bed early despite his tantrum. 

Finally after three stories and assurances that tomorrow she would let him call Daddy, Jack fell asleep. Soon after Chris was knocking. 

"Hi Doll." He looked tired she thought. 

"I've got hot coco." She held out a cup to him. 

"Thanks. I want to talk to you about something." Chris reached for the cup and sat down on the couch.

"Okay." Jenna took a seat on the far side of the couch and pulled the blanket around her. 

"It's about your husband." 

"Okay." 

"Why didn't you leave the first time? Why did you let it happen?" 

Jenna bristled and felt suddenly angry and humiliated. "I didn't let it happen! He did it to me!" She jumped up from the couch. 

Chris rose from the couch and took a hold of Jenna's arm. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please Jenna."

"Let go of me, please, " Tears were filling her eyes. "I don't like people grabbing hold of me." 

At once Chris released her and held up his hands. "I didn't mean to scare you. Forgive me?" 

Jenna nodded and wiped her eyes. "I can't tell you why it happened." She took several breathes trying to calm down. "I don't know why. I was always afraid and always trying to to do everything right, but I was never able to. Why? Because it wouldn't have mattered." 

"Everything frightens you. The last thing I intended was to make it worse." Chris said quietly. "I like you, Jenna. I like you a lot." 

"I like you too. I like working for you." Jenna said. 

"I'm glad you showed up on my doorstep, doll." Chris drained his mug and put it in the sink. "Sorry I scared you. Can we talk more about it later? I really need to understand this, please." 

Jenna nodded. "It's okay. And yes, maybe I can sit down and talk to you."


	19. Chapter 19

“Where are we going again?” Jack wiggled in his seat as Jenna combed his hair. He needed a haircut. That had been the one thing that James did with Jack. Took him to a real barbershop and got his hair cut every other month. 

“The zoo and for lunch afterwards.” 

“Are you going to marry Sebastian?” 

“No silly billy! I’m still married to your dad.” Jenna tickled Jack and he squealed with laughter. 

“Do you want to marry Sebastian?” Jack hopped off the barstool. 

“He’s a friend, Jack. Who is taking us to the zoo.” 

“Will we see lions?”

“Probably along with tigers and bears.” Jenna said with a laugh.

Sebastian handled Jack like a pro. He didn’t try to charm him or talk down to him. He lifted Jack up and onto his shoulders while they walked around the zoo. Even when Jack started to throw a tantrum, Sebastian was calm and patient with him. Jenna had watched the two of them and was fascinated. James had always lost his temper with Jack, but Chris and Sebastian never did. In fact they acted like they liked being around Jack. Even when Jack had hidden behind Sebastian when it was his turn to feed the Indian rhino, he didn’t get angry.   
Who was this tall muscular man with dark brown hair and why was he being so nice to them? Maybe he was simply a nice person, a guy who liked small children, and women like her who got themselves beat up. She could see how he’d like Jack. Jack was an amazing little boy, who could charm anyone. But she really couldn’t figure out why he was wasting his time on her. 

“You’re awfully quiet, “ Sebastian observed as they were leaving the Mahale Café that overlooked the giraffe exhibit. “Did you like the zoo?” Jack had grabbed both of their hands and was swinging back and forth. 

“It was wonderful!” Recalling her favorite animal, the elephant. 

“I liked it a whole lot!” Jack sang out in a singsong voice. “Can we come back again! I promise this time I’ll feed the rhino.” 

“Sure buddy.” Sebastian told him.

When he dropped them off at the house, Jack had given Sebastian a hug goodbye. “Can you come again and play with the water guns.”

“I’d like that. But we have to get your mom one too, okay?” 

“Okay!” Jack was already running to the door, “Mr. Chris! Mr. Chris, look at what I got!” He was dragging a gorilla that was almost as tall as he was. A gift from Sebastian.

Jenna stood awkwardly in front of Sebastian, “Thanks again for taking us. I had a really nice time and I know Jack did too.” 

“Jack’s a great kid.” He leaned against his car, and looked at her. “Want to try that new seafood place one night this week?” 

Oh…” Jenna said and took a moment. “I…I don’t know. Why?” She asked. 

“Because I like hanging out with you. You’re an interesting person.” Sebastian explained and moved closer to her. 

“I don’t know what you are wanting, Sebastain. But I can’t…” 

He stopped her. “Jen, I just want to be your friend. Okay?” 

“Okay.” She said softly. 

“So what about dinner?” He asked again. 

“Okay. That’d be nice.” She said. 

Sebastian held out his hand to her and she stared at it and then back up at his eyes. He had really nice blue eyes she thought. Uncertainly, she put her own hand out and he took it, then leaned forward and kissed her check. Her heart jumped into her chest, and she was too scared to even move. 

“I’ll call you tomorrow to set something up.” He said, letting go of her hand. 

“Okay. “ That seemed to be the only thing she was capable of saying. Her heart was pounding in her chest. His hand had been warm and his lips had just grazed her cheek. She knew he was only being friendly, but that didn’t stop her from looking around, fearful of seeing James lurking in the shadows.   
She went inside and watched him drive away. She shouldn’t have said she’d go out with him again. James would find out someway and then he would come after her. She had a chance at something wonderful here, and she wanted it so badly for her and Jack. The past kept wrapping itself around her, pulling her back and reminding her of what could happen the moment you let your guard down.

 

Chris called his mother while Jenna and Jack were out. At the sound of his mother’s voice, he felt a smile shape his face and a weight lift from his shoulders. 

“Hi, Ma. How’s everything? Did you get the flight information I sent you?” 

“Everything’s fine. Cleaning the house before I have to come out there for the weekend.” He could hear the water splashing and knew she was doing the dishes. Even though he had paid for a state of the art dishwasher to be installed, his mother still did dishes by hand. Just like she had since he was a boy.

“Take a break, Ma and talk to me. I sent the flight information to you. Did you get it?” 

“Yes, that sweet assistant of yours, Jenna, called me. She wanted to make sure I got the flight information and to find out if there was anything I needed for my visit. Is this the girl Carly was talking about when she got home?”

Chris smiled. So Jenna had called his mother. “Yeah, it is.” He waited wondering if Carly had told her anything else about Jenna. “She’s a hard worker.” 

“Carly told me she has a son. How is that working out?” 

“Good. He and Robbie have become fast friends. Can barely keep the two of them apart.” He waited to see if his mom knew anything else.

“So when are you going to get married and give me a grandchild?” His mother asked him this question every single time they talked. 

“Jesus Ma! I’m not even seeing anyone.” Chris ran a hand threw his hair and sighed exasperatedly. “Besides I’m too busy. I have another project that starts filming in September.”

“Carly says Jenna is a pretty girl. What about her?” 

“Ma! She works for me.” 

“So. That’s how Carly met her husband. At work.” 

The last thing Chris wanted to talk about was his lackluster love life. “Ma, can we talk about Laura?” It was a low blow and something Chris would have never done before. But he was desperate for answers. He heard his mother’s sharp intake of breathe and immediately felt guilty. “I’m sorry, Ma.”

“Christopher, what’s this really about?”

“Nothing.” He lied and again felt guilt. “I’ve just been remembering things and trying to understand.” 

“This is about Jenna, isn’t it?” 

Chris sighed. “Yeah. She looks nothing like Laura, but when she first arrived, one look at her and all I could think of was Laura.” 

“I know you feel like you need to save every one. But sometimes you have to let a person save themselves. Laura…”His mother stopped talking and Chris could hear her sniffle and knew she was crying. 

“Ma, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I won’t bring it up again.” 

“It’s all right, son. No one understands what happened that night. Not even God himself.” There was a long pause. “The cousin you remember was not the cousin who died. Remember Laura in good times, not from that night.” 

“I will. Sorry I made you cry, Ma.” He heard the door open and Jack’s voice calling for him. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see Friday. I love you.”

“Love you too, son.”


	20. Chapter 20

The day Chris’s family was to arrive, Jenna was up before dawn. Not that she ever really had a good night’s sleep. She dressed and then let herself in the main house. Everyone was still asleep, except for East who gave her a soft woof before she let him outside. She got the coffee brewing and started her preparations for the pies she was making and the potato salad. Soon her pies were in the oven and the potato salad was in the fridge. She made herself a cup of coffee and waited for the rest of the house to wake up. 

“Whatever you are baking smells amazing!” Chris exclaimed as he came into the kitchen. 

“Oh, it’s apple pie. It wouldn’t be Fourth of July without it.” Jenna fixed a cup of coffee and passed it to him. 

“If you keep cooking like you do, I’m gonna weigh five hundred pounds when I’m done filming and training.” Chris laughed. 

“I’m glad you like it. Want me to make breakfast?” She pulled out eggs and a package of bacon when he nodded. 

“Can I help?” He moved over to her and pulled down a bowl to mix up the eggs. 

“Yes, please.” Jenna liked having his help in the kitchen. He didn’t make things more difficult for her or purposely mess up like James would. “When will your family be here?” 

Chris glanced at his watch, “they’re probably still in the air right now. I can’t wait for you to meet them.” He poured the eggs into a skillet and gently scrambled them with spatula.

Jenna carefully flipped the bacon slices, trying to avoid the random grease splatters. “What’s your family like? It must have been nice growing up with in a big family.”

Chris laughed, “Controlled chaos is what my mom would say. We’re a big, loud, and dramatic bunch. You’ve met Carly, she’s a drama teacher. Shanna, she’s younger than me, and Scott, he’s an actor and lives in New York. “ 

“You guys are really close, huh?” Jenna placed some eggs, bacon, and toast on a plate and slide it over to Chris. 

He nodded his head. “You sit and eat. I’ll fix my plate.” 

“Oh, okay.” She took the seat he offered and nibbled on a piece of toast while Chris fixed his plate. 

“Yeah, we’re all pretty close. My mom runs a small youth theater back home. You’ll love her. She’s a hugger so be prepared.” Chris laughed again. “What did your family do for the Fourth of July?” 

“My dad liked to go fishing. So we’d pack up a huge lunch, go out to the lake, and fish most of the day. One time we got a cabin for the weekend and a boat.” 

“You fish?” Chris asked. He was sitting next to her and their knees bumped as he talked. 

“Yeah, since I could hold a fishing pole.” Jenna laughed remembering the little red and blue fishing pole her dad had bought her. 

“Maybe we can do that next Fourth of July. Up north there are some nice lakes.” 

“That would be really nice. I’m glad you get to spend today with your family. You must miss them an awful lot.” Jenna busied herself with pulling her pies out of the oven. It was weird being able to talk so openly to Chris. She didn’t feel like she could do that with Sebastian yet. 

Both the young boys walked sleepily into the kitchen, disrupting whatever connection she and Chris were beginning. Jenna fixed them both some eggs and cheese toast.   
Chris watched her, like he always did. He had to admit that Jenna had made a big difference in his life and he felt ashamed that he hadn’t wanted to hire her that day. It seemed to actually make Jenna happy taking care of him, Robbie, and Jack. She kept him organized, cooked his meals, planned his life basically. She glanced over at him, and refilled his coffee cup with a soft smile. She was coming into her own, and he hoped that nothing would happen to disturb that.


	21. Chapter 21

“Somebody’s at the door!” Both Jack and Robbie had finished breakfast and had been running in and out of the house for the past hour. Jenna had to confiscate the water guns to prevent the two young boys from having a full out water war in the house. Chris had gone to the store to get more ice, sodas, and beer. Almost out of breathe from trying to wrangle two hyper boys and a barking wiggling East, she threw open the door. Something she would have never done a month prior. A month ago, she would have feared James would be on the other side. 

There on the doorstep was a group of people that had to be Chris’s family. A tall, tan and blue eyed man greeted her. “You must be Jenna.” He pulled her in for a hug. 

“That’s right. You must be Scott.” She tried to remember the names Chris had told her. 

Behind Scott stood Carly, another young woman, and an older woman who looked as young as her daughters and in her arms was a chubby toddler boy. “Hi Jenna.” Carly greeted her and gave her a small hug. “This is our sister, Shana and our mom Lisa.” 

Before Jenna could say any kind of greeting Chris came in and he was right, they were a loud family. His face lit up and he was smiling more than she had seen before. 

“I told you to call me when you guys landed.” Chris admonished as he hugged his mom and tickled his young nephew, Trevor, who immediately climbed into his arms. 

“Oh hon, Scott had a car service meet us.” Lisa gave Chris a quick peck on the cheek before turning to Jenna. 

“It’s so lovely to meet you, Jenna.” The woman enveloped her in a hug. “Chris just raves about you.”   
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Evans.” Jenna looked somewhat dazed after the hug. 

“Oh call me, Lisa, hon. You are just adorable.” She hugged her again. “And who is this handsome young man.” She knelt down where Jack was hiding behind Jenna.

Jack buried his face in his hands, barely peeking up at Lisa. “This is Jack.” 

“Hi there Jack.” 

Jack peeked up at Lisa and whispered, “Hi.” 

“Chris told me Robbie and him are having a blast this summer.” Lisa said as Jack went from being behind Jenna to hiding behind Chris. 

Jenna watched as Chris deftly lifted Jack up into his arms and continued talking to Scott. “They really are. Jack is having a wonderful time with Robbie.” 

It didn’t take long for everyone to congregate in the backyard. Robbie and Jack were running around with water guns, while Trevor toddled behind trying to keep up.   
Chris was flipping burgers on the grill and sipping a beer. Jenna tried to stay in the background and let Chris visit with his family. She pulled out a platter of sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and onions for the burgers. Along with bowls of potato salad and baked beans. 

“Everything looks delicious, Jenna.” Carly came into the kitchen startling her. 

“Oh, thanks. I hope it’s enough for everyone.” Jenna put some hamburger and hot dog buns on another platter on the bar. 

“I’m sure it will be.” Carly assured her. “Your hair looks beautiful.” 

Jenna blushed and ran a hand over her sleek hair. “Thanks. I’ve never had it so short before. But I think I really like it.” 

“It looks good. You look really good. I’m so glad Chris has you here.” 

“I’m just glad he gave me a chance.” Jenna said softly. 

“Me too.” 

Chris came in. “Hey girls. Jenna can I get a plate for the meat?” 

Jenna pulled down a large platter and handed it over to him. Carly couldn’t help but catch the smiles exchanged between the two of them. She knew that look her brother had. He was falling for Jenna, whether he wanted to admit it or not.


	22. Chapter 22

Everyone gathered around the picnic table for lunch. Jack had finally warmed up to the new guests and was squeezed into a chair with Scott. Scott didn’t seem to mind and had fixed Jack a hot dog and a plate full of potato salad and baked beans. He sat with an arm around Jack and asked him about his summer. Jenna had gone back and forth between the kitchen and outside, covertly watching Chris’s family, fascinated by how this family moved as one together. The atmosphere was lighter and more amusing with them there. 

“Sit, sit, Jenna hon.” Lisa had finally said, patting the seat beside her. “Fix yourself some food. I’m sure everyone can help themselves if they need something.”

Jenna fixed a hamburger and ate with gusto. Chris had grilled up some amazing burgers. How different things were the last time she ate with Chris’s sister. She glanced over at Carly, wondering if she remembered that day too. 

“Great food, Jenna.” Carly met her eyes and smiled. 

“Hey, what about the grill master?” Chris tossed a potato chip at Carly. 

Both Carly and Shana tossed food back at Chris. “You men, I swear! You toss something on the grill, drink a beer, turn said meat over a few times, drink another beer, and think you’ve cooked a seven course meal!” Shana exclaimed.

“Kids, don’t make me pull out Aunt Bertha.” Lisa admonished with a smile. 

All four Evans kids gasped. “Oh no Ma! Not Aunt Bertha!” Scott laughed. 

“What’s Aunt Bertha?” Jenna asked. 

Chris burst out laughing. “Aunt Bertha was their nickname for the paddle. I think we maybe got spanked once by it then it just became an idle threat from them.” 

“That’s because Scott hid it. I found it in the old steamer trunk at the foot of my bed.” Lisa said and the table erupted in laughter. “These kids, Jenna, always up to no good.” 

“One time, Chris and Scott tied my door knob to theirs. Then told me this boy I liked was on the phone. They thought it was hysterical that I couldn’t get out of my room. Up until I pulled the door so hard, the door knob ripped off.” Shana said. 

“I think that was when I hid Aunt Bertha.” Scott said. 

“No, that was after we were practicing our ninja skills in the bedroom and kicked a hole in our closet. We hid it behind our snow suits thinking they would never find out.” Chris started laughing so hard he couldn’t finish. 

“Their Dad found the hole and made them move everything out of their room into the storage room. They had to sleep on the floor for a month while he took his time fixing this bowling ball shaped hole in their closet.” Lisa finished with a chuckle.

Jenna laughed and shook her finger at both Scott and Chris. “You hid it for how long?” 

“Probably 6 months or better. Dad for some reason decided to see if we needed new snow suits and found it. We tried to pretend it just…” Scott started laughing again. 

“That suddenly a giant hole appeared in your wall?” Jenna supplied.

“It could happen.” Both Chris and Scott looked at each other nodding, still laughing. 

“On that note, I think I will go get dessert.” Jenna gathered up the dinner plates and went inside. 

“Jenna made dessert.” Chris leaned back in his chair, looking over his shoulder at Jenna in the kitchen. 

“She’s very sweet, hon.” Lisa remarked. 

“She’s amazing.” Chris said softly. “I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“Well, she sure can cook. Did she make everything?” Shana asked. 

“She did. I tried to tell her she didn’t have to, but she insisted. She really seems to like doing it. “

“She’s worlds away from the girl I met weeks ago.” Carly said and then got quiet when Jenna came back out carrying two pies. 

“Jenna, these look amazing!” Both Lisa and Carly exclaimed.  
Jenna’s cheeks flushed bright pink and she put her head down. “Thank you. I like making desserts.” 

“I’m going to have to steal her away from you, Chris.” Lisa put her arm around Jenna. 

“Nope, I can’t let you do that. “ Chris got up and pulled Jenna away from his mom. He felt her tense up being touched so much. “I couldn’t survive here without her. You’ll just have to settle with seeing her on holidays and when we visit.” Without a second thought he placed a kiss on the top of her head as he got up. “You couldn’t pry this girl away from me.” 

Once everyone had stuffed themselves with pie and ice cream, Jenna started cleaning the kitchen. While loading the dishwasher, Jenna wondered where James was and what he was doing. He’d probably be at his mother’s house, with his brother, either knocking back beer after beer, until they were both drunk and spoiling for a fight. Jenna was so grateful not to have to be there. For years of holiday gatherings, she’d suffered through meals with James and his family. Trying so hard to be pleasant and pretend that she and James were the happy little family. The whole time anticipating the blows that always came. She had been gone almost a full month, but it felt like she’d been away from James for a very long time. For the first time in years, she had no bruises to hide. She didn’t have to be fearful to say or do something that would cause James to explode in anger. Instead she was in the midst of a loving, friendly people, and treated like she was part of the family. She sighed contentedly, closing the dishwasher and starting it. It had been the best Fourth of July since her childhood.


	23. 23

Chris had taken all of them to the beach down from the house to watch the yearly firework show. He had planned everything. From making sure there were blankets for everyone to sit on to more food and drinks for people to eat while they watched the show. 

“My favorite part of the Fourth has always been the fireworks.” Jenna said, sitting beside Chris as another blue streak shot across the sky. 

“Me too. “ He glanced over at her and saw her face lit up by the different colored firelight. He leaned closer to her and felt the coolness of her arm graze across his. “Are you cold?” He unzipped his sweatshirt before she could speak and draped it over her shoulders. 

Before she could say anything, Jack wiggled in between them. Another boom sounded loudly and Jack clapped his hands over his ears and grinned as he looked up at the sky. Every time the sky would lit up he would grin bigger and bigger. Jenna knew that Jack would remember this holiday for a very long time. 

When the final firework exploded and the last hot dog had been eaten, they loaded up their things and headed back. “I can have Jack sleep with me so someone can have the extra bedroom.” Jenna offered. 

“That’s okay, hon.” Lisa replied. “Shana and I are going to stay with Scott at his house here.” She gave Jenna a hug. “We’ll be back in the morning for breakfast though.” 

“Okay.” Jenna smiled, embracing the woman in another hug. “I can make French toast.” She suggested. 

“Sounds lovely.” Lisa winked over at Chris who laughed. 

“I told ya Ma. She’s gonna make me a fat useless bastard if she keeps it up.” He ducked as Lisa swatted at him. 

“Language Christopher!” 

“Sorry.” He apologized. “We’ll see you in the morning.” He helped his mom into the car and waved as they drove away.

“Well, I’m going to make these boys take a shower before they go to bed. I bet they are exhausted after the day we’ve all had. I know I am!” Carly exclaimed. 

“Thanks Carly. I’ll just do the prep for breakfast.” Jenna said.

Chris followed her in and took his usual seat at the bar across from her. “Thanks for all the cooking you did today. Everyone was blown away by it all.” 

“You’re very welcome. Your family is so nice and…” She paused. 

“Loud.” Chris supplied for her with a chuckle.

Jenna laughed. “Yes, loud too. But most of all nice. They made me feel so welcome.” Her voice dipped softly and when she looked back up there were tears in her eyes. “I never felt welcome in James’s family, but your mom made me feel like I was one of hers. So thank you.” She finished with the dish and placed it in the refrigerator. 

“Just wait till you see us at Thanksgiving, doll.” He laughed, lightening the mood. 

“I can’t wait.” Jenna replied, with a smile and wiped the tears from her eyes. 

 

“What are you doing in my room?” Chris asked, looking at his sister, who was sitting cross legged on his bed. 

“I wanna have a sleepover Bubba!” Carly grinned over at him. “I brought popcorn and soda.” She tossed a piece of popcorn to East who caught it in midair. 

“Hey! Don’t feed him people food. He’ll have the shits for a week and I’ll have to clean it up when you’re gone.” Chris took the soda she offered. 

“So when did you fall in love with Jenna?” Carly never did beat around the bush. 

Chris choked on the soda he had been drinking and started coughing. “I’m not in love with her. She works for me, Carly.” 

“Blah blah blah.” Carly rolled her eyes. “Whatever! I can see it in the way you look at her. You look at her like she is the only other person in the room, Chris.” 

“Carly…” 

“Please.” Carly waved her hand at him. “Jenna lives for you. She is a completely different person from the day I met her. That is thanks to you.”

“She is afraid of her own shadow.” Chris protested. 

“But she is learning to trust again. The Jenna I met a month ago would have never let someone hug her or have so freely conversed at dinner with us. No, the old Jenna would have hid behind a curtain of bad hair and been too afraid to speak to any of us.” 

“Okay.. so what if I like her.” Chris relented. 

“I knew it!” Carly exclaimed. She grinned over at him and bounced on the bed. “Chris and Jenna sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

“Please Carly. For once act your damn age!” Chris said.

They were silent for a moment. “Are you finally going to end your obsession with Laura end now?” Carly asked after a while.

“I just want to know, Carly. That’s all.” 

“What’s there to know, Chris?” She died. He fucking killed her.” Carly’s mouth was set in a hard thin line. “There was nothing we could have done.”

“But what..” He began. 

“Nothing! We were kids. You have to let it go.” 

“But..”

“Let. It. Go.” Carly drained her soda. “I’m going to bed.” She hugged him. “I love you, little brother.” 

“Love you, too Sis.”


	24. Chapter 24

Jenna dreamed she was in Chris’s sunny kitchen. Coffee was brewing and filling the air with a rich fragrance while bacon popped in the skillet on the stove. She opened the pantry and there was James. Smiling too wide, with too many teeth, and with his pistol gripped in his beefy hand. He kept smiling as he lifted the gun and aimed it straight at her. She turned to run, terrified, and her heart pounding fiercely but James reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair. She wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth all that came out was a whisper, “No!”

His smile scared her almost more than the gun. If only she could scream, Chris would hear her, and help. But if she screamed, Jack would wake up and she didn’t want James to remember Jack.   
Why couldn’t she scream, or make any sound. She fought back against his grip, even though she knew that it was always worse when she fought back. It seemed to only incite him to worse acts of violence.   
She could hear Chris calling for her, but she still couldn’t make a sound, her voice seemed strangled, muted. This is only a dream, she thought. She could wake up, but her eyes felt far too heavy to lift. Chris’s voice got louder, and then she felt someone tugging at her. Pulling her out of her dreamlike state.   
With a massive effort she clawed her way out of her dreamlike state. Holding her and still calling her name was Chris. 

“It’s just a dream, baby.” He pulled her into his arms and Jenna didn’t fight it. She let herself be pulled into his arms and fell against his chest. Her body heavy with years of abuse and fear. All at once she wanted to pour all of it out. All she needed was the slightest encouragement and she would spill it. 

“What did you dream?” He finally asked, once she had stopped gasping for air and trembling. 

“I dream about James hurting me almost every night.” Jenna whispered. 

“That must be awful.” 

Jenna nodded, “He had a lot of ways of hurting me. Before I left this last time, I was just waiting for him to get it over with. Go ahead and finally kill me. That’s when I got really scared. I knew if I didn’t get away, I’d be dead someday and then Jack would be left with no one to protect him. “ She pulled out of his embrace and sat back against the headboard, pulling her legs up to her chest. 

Chris didn’t say anything, but Jenna could feel him listening. The only sounds were her voice and his slight breathing. As she continued to speak, she felt his hand find hers and grasp it. 

“In the beginning, he’d always be sorry. The first time he slapped me, he was so sorry. He was fine for a while and then it happened again. Out of nowhere, he slapped me again. After that he wasn’t sorry anymore. He liked hurting me. He got some sort of sick pleasure out of hurting me or torturing me. When it was happening, part of me was standing back watching, and wondering how did I come to be married to this man. “ 

Chris felt sick as he listened. He knew he’d wanted to know her story, to be able to understand why Laura had stayed, but now he regretted it. He never expected Jenna to be so forthcoming. 

“For a while when I found out I was pregnant, he was happy. I thought maybe he’ll stop hitting me, but that didn’t stop him. He’d beat me, and then scream at me that I was trying to lose his son. I should have miscarried with the way he beat me, but Jack held on. He’s a stubborn little boy. I was home only a few days after Jack was born when things got really bad. I wanted to leave, but now I had Jack and no way to leave. So I tried to keep quiet and keep Jack from bothering James when he was home. I tried to be a good wife and you know…pretend to like it when came at me in bed. I would do the things I thought he wanted me to and I didn’t let on that he was hurting me, even though he knew he was.” Jenna sniffed and tried to keep the tears from spilling over. 

Chris squeezed his eyes shut. He knew he was being told far more than he ever wanted to know. He couldn’t stop the pictures in his head of Jenna being hurt and it sent anger boiling through his blood. 

“James always said I was the stupidest person in the world. He was right, I was stupid and I deserved to have him rip out my hair and slam my head against his truck dash because I changed the radio station without his permission. I deserved to have him rape me while he held his pistol to me temple. I deserved to have him break my ribs or burn me with cigarettes. I deserved every last thing he ever did or said to me, because I was so stupid.” She started crying and it affected her ability to get the words out. “He convinced me that everything that happened to me, that he did to me was my fault. I couldn’t do anything right. He did all these things to me that made me feel like garbage. I couldn’t do what he wanted me to in…in bed. The whole time he was doing it to me, I’d think about going away somewhere and living alone with Jack. Someplace where no one would hit me because I forgot something. “ 

She was quiet for a long time and all Chris could do was hold her hand and sit in the darkness next to her. “I kept taking my birth control pills because I was terrified of having another kid with James. When I went for a visit last year, he said there was no point to me taking the pills because I couldn’t have any more babies. I’m not even thirty and already ruined. James was right who would want me? I’m nothing.” 

“It’s not your fault, doll. And you’re not stupid. You are not nothing.” He finally spoke. 

“I thought when I got away from him, it’d all be over. But it just keeps happening in my dreams over and over.”

“It’ll get better.” 

“Will it?” Jenna challenged.

Chris nodded. “I believe it will. “

“But how can you know that?” Jenna asked again. 

“After Laura was…” Chris stopped and swallowed back the emotion that bubbled up in his throat. He didn’t want to cry in front of Jenna. Not when she needed someone to be strong. “After she was killed, I saw her lifeless body every night for months. It made me terrified all over again.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“It’s all these years later, decades really, and it’s still horrible. But it’s the past, and now it’s not as terrifying.” Chris hoped that Jenna would be able to forget someday and open up to someone again. 

“I don’t think I am ever going to be able to forget any of what James did to me.” 

“I understand, “ Chris said. “But it’s going to get better. Nobody will ever hurt you like that again. Your time as a victim is done. You’re a survivor now. You’ve got a new life here with Jack. And there’s Sebastian and…” He stopped. “And me, Jenna.” 

“I’m scared of what Sebastian might want from me. “ Jenna confessed to Chris. “He swears he just wants to be my friend, but that doesn’t stop me from being scared.”

“He’s a good guy. If he says he just wants friendship, that’s all he wants. He’s not dangerous.” Chris said to her, trying to explain that his friend’s intentions were genuine. 

“All men are dangerous.” Jenna said solemnly. 

“Not all of them. I’m not. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life. Hell, I cry at commercials, Jenna.” 

“You’re the only man I’ve trusted since I left.” Jenna replied. “But I’m still scared that one day that might change.” 

“It won’t change. I promise I won’t break your trust, Jenna.” Chris squeezed her hand tight. 

“I don’t know what he sees in me. Or what you even see in me. “ 

“I’m so sorry, doll.” Chris said, feeling lost and not knowing what else to say to her. 

“What are you sorry for?” Jenna asked, bewildered by his apologetic tone.

“I’m sorry that you’ve experienced such horrible things. You didn’t deserve any of it. No one deserves to be treated like you have been treated. “ Chris could say that much with conviction. 

A sob bubbled out of Jenna and tears streamed down her cheeks. With her face buried in her hands, she cried and tried to regain control of her emotions. No one had ever told her it wasn’t her fault. And to be treated with such kindness filled her with emotion. At last, she could speak without the sobs getting in the way of her words. “Thank you. For giving me a chance. I really do like you, even though I’m too scared to be around you sometimes. And I startle easy and shy away when you come near. You’re a really nice person, I hope you know that.” 

“You’re not shying away from my touch tonight.” Chris held up the hand that was still tightly in his grasp. “Thank you for sharing with me. I know it’s not easy for you to talk about. “

“I’m really tired now.” Jenna stretched out in the bed and pulled the covers around her. 

“Me too.” Chris lied. His mind was racing, remembering the night Laura died. He’d probably be awake for the rest of the night. Thinking and remembering. 

“Can you…” Jenna stopped. 

“Do you want me to stay?” Chris finished for her. 

Jenna nodded. “After my nightmares, I can’t sleep.”

“I’ll stay as long as you need me to, doll.” Chris tucked her in. 

She was quiet so long that Chris thought she had fallen asleep. “I’ve never told anybody those things.”

“I understand.” Chris said. He pulled the arm chair up close to the bed and settled in for a long night. “Sleep. I’ll be right here.” 

It didn’t take long, but soon Jenna was deep asleep again. Chris stared at her sleeping face, and tried to shake the revulsion he felt at the thought of Jenna being beaten or raped by her son of a bitch husband. Shaken to the core, he closed his eyes and wished that he could wipe away Jenna’s past.


	25. Chapter 25

Jenna slept longer than she ever had since coming to live at Chris’s. Between the horrible nightmare and confessing her dark demons to Chris, she had been drained both mentally and physically. It was almost ten when she opened the door to the kitchen and was greeted by Lisa who was cutting up fresh fruit. 

“I’m sorry. I overslept. I’m really sorry. I made a French toast casserole for breakfast.” Jenna apologized repeatedly as she pulled the baking dish out of the refrigerator. She turned the oven on and wished it would heat up faster. Why did she sleep in so long? She should have been up hours ago and had breakfast ready when his family arrived. 

“Jenna, honey, it’s okay.” Lisa gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve all been enjoying some coffee. I don’t think anyone is going to starve.” 

“I really wanted to have this ready when you got here this morning.” Jenna explained. The oven beeped and she slid the dish in. 

“There’s no need to apologize over and over.”

“I just like things to be perfect for Chris. He works so hard and...” Jenna found herself babbling. 

“No one can be perfect, Jenna. Chris would never expect that out of you.” Lisa poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. 

“I know. But he gave me a chance, when no one else would. I feel like I owe it to him.” 

“Oh sweetie. It’s been a rough life for you, hasn’t it?” Lisa could tell just how much Jenna would remind Chris of his cousin, Laura. 

Jenna didn’t respond. She looked away and took a sip of her coffee. “You have a wonderful son. I just want to do a good job for him, so he will never regret giving me a chance.” 

Lisa was about to respond when Chris walked in, carrying Jack on his back. “Can someone help me? There’s this monkey on my back!” Chris was spinning around, pretending to grab at Jack. The whole time, Jack was laughing and teasing Chris. “You can’t get me! You can’t get me!” 

“Morning, Jenna.” Chris smiled at her as Jack climbed all over him. 

“Good morning.” She smiled shyly back. “Jack, Chris is not a jungle gym. Don’t be a pest.” She admonished her son. 

“I’m not being a pest.” Jack howled with laughter as Chris flipped him off his back and tossed him up in the air. 

“I’ve been the one harassing him, so don’t worry.” Chris assured her. 

Jenna knew if Jack was really being a bother, Chris would let her know. But it was still different to see someone, especially a male, playing with Jack and actually enjoying it. 

Breakfast was just as much of a production as yesterday had been. Chris’s family was loud, everyone talking over each other. Chris and Scott liked to tease their sisters and Lisa was the referee for it all. Jenna found it amusing to see the brothers and sisters get in trouble. All Lisa had to do was clear her throat and raise an eyebrow and all four of them would straighten up and say, “Sorry Ma.” 

“I could always tell when Chris was either lying or had done something bad.” Lisa said to Jenna. “His neck turns bright red and he starts stuttering and fidgeting like a five year old who has to potty.” 

Jenna laughed and glanced over at Chris who was blushing. “I’m sure Captain America was never a problem child.” 

“Ha!” Scott exclaimed. “Chris was the ring leader!”

“Now, now!” Lisa interrupted. “All of you were equally problem children. That’s why I have all these grey hairs. But now look at all of you, I couldn’t be prouder.” 

“Awww! Love you Ma.” Chris stood up and gave him mom a big kiss on the cheek.

East gave a woof and padded to the back door, a few minutes later Sebastian came walking out to the back yard. “Hello my second family!” He greeted the Evans family. 

“Hello my third son.” Lisa gave him a big hug.

“And your favorite, right?” Sebastian pulled up a chair and sat next to Jenna. 

Lisa shook her head, smiling. “Only when these four misbehave.” 

Jenna quickly got up and gathered all the cups and plates. “I’ll go clean up.” 

“Let me help you.” Sebastian jumped up and took the dishes from her hands.

“Okay.” Jenna went into the kitchen and turned on the hot water. “How was your Fourth of July?” She asked as Sebastian rinsed off the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. 

“Pretty good. I went to New York to see my mom. How was yours?” 

“It was nice. Really nice.” Jenna said after a moment. “We went to the beach to see the fireworks. I’ve never been to the beach to see fireworks before. Actually until a few weeks ago, I’d never even been to the beach either.” 

“I bet that was nice.” Sebastian leaned against the counter.

Jenna loaded the last dish into the machine and turned it on. “Thanks for the help.” 

“So, I got some tickets for the aquarium. How about we go this afternoon? Maybe get dinner at this great Venezuelan place I heard about?” Sebastian asked.  
“I’ll have to let Chris know first. His family leaves today.” Jenna explained. “Let me go ask.” 

Jenna nervously walked back outside. Robbie and Jack had brought out every single lego that owned and were now actively trying to build the biggest castle ever. Chris and Scott were supervising the chaos. 

“Chris, Sebastian got tickets for the aquarium. Mind if I go? I’ll be back before your family leaves.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He turned his attention back to the boys. “Hey, Jack if you put that piece right here, you can make it into a guard tower for your archers.” He snapped a piece in. 

“Hey Jack. Sebastian wants us to go to the aquarium with him. Why don’t you get your shoes on and come with me.” Jenna said, the truth was she wanted Jack to come along so she would feel safer and like it wasn’t another date.   
“But I wanna stay here and play. We are building a castle with a drawbridge and moat and maybe even a dragon. “ 

“But Sebastian will be disappointed.” Jenna replied. 

“It’s okay, Jenna. Let him stay with the boys.” Lisa said. 

“You sure you don’t mind?” Jenna asked Lisa and looking for approval from Chris. 

“Yes, honey. You go and have fun this afternoon.” Lisa smiled at her. “He’s in good hands here. Plus I get another kiddo to spoil.” 

“Okay. I won’t be too late.” Jenna went back inside where Sebastian was waiting. “I’m afraid it will just be me. Jack wants to stay and play. He doesn’t get the chance to play with kids his age too often. “ Jenna explained as they walked outside to his car.

“That’s okay.” He again opened her door for her. “So food or aquarium first?” 

“Well we had a later brunch so I’m not that hungry, but if you are I’m okay with that.” 

“Aquarium it is then.” 

“So what was your favorite part?” Sebastian asked after they were seated at the restaurant. 

“Umm… I guess either the seahorses or the jelly fish. Or maybe the sharks. Or…” Jenna stopped and laughed. “I liked it all. But the jelly fish really were pretty. I like how they made them all look different colors.” 

“I’m glad you liked it. “ He glanced down at the menu. “You should try a sangria. They’re amazing here.” 

“I don’t like to drink really.” Jenna said with a small shrug.

“How about I get one and you can try it. If you like it, you can take mine.” Sebastian offered. 

“Okay. What should I have?” Jenna asked Sebastian, for the first time feeling a closeness to him. Not that she wanted a relationship, but he was nice to her. He had yet to show any sign of a darker side and he was so nice to Jack. 

“They are known for their empanadas, so those are great. Or the pabellon, it’s a traditional dish.” 

“How about you order for me. You did a good job last time.” Jenna suggested. 

“That’ll be fine.” The waitress came, and he ordered their drinks, and a platter of empanadas for them. The waitress left a bowl of tortilla chips and several bowls of salsa. 

“I love chips and salsa. “Jenna said digging into the chips. 

“Be careful. That green stuff will dissolve your tongue and the other red there will just clear your sinuses and bring tears to your eyes.” 

“No thanks. I’ll stick to my mild salsa.” Jenna laughed. 

“Things still going good for you?” He offered her a drink of his sangria. 

“Yeah. I like it. Chris is really nice.” She took a sip of the dark red liquid. “That is good!” 

“Chris thinks you are amazing, you know that right.” 

Jenna blushed and looked down. Compliments still made her uncomfortable. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure Jen.” 

“Why do you keep asking me out? I mean I can’t be that interesting.” Jenna said. 

“I think you’re interesting and I guess I thought you might need someone to convince you that all men aren’t like him. “ He sat back in his chair and looked at her. “Look, Chris is just wild about you. Do you like him at all? I mean besides working for him?” 

“I…I don’t know. If you know he’s so into me, then why do you keep asking me out? I mean shouldn’t Chris be doing that?” 

“I just want to be your friend. I think Chris is afraid of scaring you. I know you’ve had some bad experiences with men. With a man. I don’t think he wants you to be scared anymore. “

“I don’t feel so scared when I am with him.” Jenna admitted softly. 

“Chris isn’t going to rush you into anything.” Their food came and they dug in. Jenna was thankful for the distraction so she didn’t have to talk about how she felt about Chris.


	26. Chapter 2

No one expected Jack’s reaction to the Evan’s family departure. The little boy sobbed and clung to Scott’s neck. He begged them not to leave. It took everyone by surprise. 

“Come on, Jack. They have to leave.” Jenna tried to pull Jack away with no success. 

“Come here, Jack.” Lisa put out her arms and Jack leaned into them, still crying. “We’ll be back, sweetie. I promise. Your mommy and Chris will bring you to visit us in Boston.” 

Jack sniffed loudly and hugged tightly. “You promise?” He rubbed his eyes. 

“I promise I’ll take you Jack.” Chris came over and Jack willingly went into his arms. 

Lisa hugged Jenna. “Thank you for taking such good care of my son.”

Jenna smiled, “You’re welcome. I’m glad I got to meet you all.” 

More hugs were given out. Jack finally went off to play with Robbie in the yard. 

“I feel awful for him. Poor little guy.” Scott admitted. “Will he be all right?” He asked. 

“I think he’ll be fine.” Chris assured him. Lisa had her arm around Chris’s waist, the only part she could comfortably reach. 

“I imagine he’s seen quite a bit of unpleasantness in his little life,” Lisa said. “I’m proud of you, Chris. Not many would take this on.” 

Chris shrugged off his mother’s compliment. “It was the right thing to do.” He said quietly. 

“We have to go now otherwise we’ll miss our flight.” Carly said. “I’ll see you in a few more weeks, Jenna.” 

“Have a safe flight.” Jenna called out as they loaded into the car. 

“I’ll call you with that recipe, Jenna hon.” Lisa waved and then they were gone. 

 

 

“My family certainly seems to like you.” Chris watched the two boys playing with East in the backyard. 

“I like them too.” Jenna busied herself with prepping for another meal. 

“Jack seems to be okay now. Does he always get upset like he did?” Chris snatched a cucumber from the mix of vegetables Jenna was slicing up for a salad. 

She shook her head. “ He is usually kind of shy and tends to take longer to warm up to strangers.”

“Kind of like his mom, huh?” Chris snatched another cucumber and Jenna swatted at his hand. Chris laughed and dodged away quickly. 

“Yeah, I am more of the shy type.” She mixed the salad together, covered it with plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator. “I hope Jack outgrows his shyness though.”

“Why’s that?” Chris asked.

“Because it’s hard to go through life being so shy and afraid to get close to anyone.” 

“Maybe Jack is seeing you are more relaxed here and that is helping him to not be so shy. You’re completely different from the woman who showed up on my doorstep weeks ago.” Chris walked over to her and was relieved when she didn’t flinch or skirt away quickly. 

“I am beginning to feel like the person I used to be. Before James turned me into someone else.”

“I like you.” Chris took Jenna’s hand in his and brought it to his lips. A soft kiss was planted on the top of her hand and he watched Jenna’s face turn pink and a tiny smile appear. 

After dinner, Jack was still acting a bit sad and despondent. Jenna decided it might cheer him up to talk to his grandmother. She looked in her purse for the old cell phone she had brought with her. It wasn’t there. She emptied it out on the bed and went through every pocket with no luck. 

“Jack, have you seen Momma’s phone?” She asked looking under the bed again.

From couch where he was curled up watching television, he shook his head. 

“I was going to have you call Grandma, but I can’t find the phone. I could have sworn I saw it a few days ago.” Jenna stood with her hands on her hips, wondering where she could have misplaced it. Jack shrugged and ignored her. 

“Are you all right, Jackie?” Jenna tried to lay down beside him, but Jack pushed her away. 

“Don’t call me Jackie. I’m not a baby!” He huffed. “When are we going home? I miss my bed and Daddy.” 

Jenna sighed softly. She knew eventually Jack was going to ask to go back home. She had been waiting and trying to decide what to tell him. “Sweetie, “she knelt beside the couch, “I know you love Daddy, but we can’t go back.” 

“I want to go back now!” Jack’s anger quickly faded, his lip quivered and a tear fell. “Why can’t we go back?”

Jenna pulled Jack into her arms. “I wish things were different. But Daddy…” Jenna stopped. How do explain adult things like abuse and divorce to someone as young as Jack. “There are somethings that are hard to understand, Jack. Even adults have a hard time. I don’t want you to worry about adult things. Just know that I love you very much.” She hoped that would be enough for him. 

Jack was quiet for a long time before he got up. “I’m tired Momma. Can I go to bed?”

Jenna nodded. “Brush your teeth first.” She hugged him and ruffled his hair. Her heart was hurting. For Jack and his unconditional love for his father, and for the love she had once wanted so badly.


	27. Chapter 27

When Monday arrived Jenna and Jack drove down to the elementary school and enrolled Jack in second grade. The school was amazing. It was sea life themed and Jack was enthralled with everything. From the fish aquariums in every class room, to small class sizes, to the super welcoming staff, it was perfect for Jack. For the first time, Jack was excited about school. When they arrived back at the house, Jack went skipping off into the backyard to play and Jenna carried in a bag of groceries to the kitchen. 

“This came for you while you were out, Jenna.” Chris handed her the Fed-Ex envelope. He continued to flip through the pile of mail. Some of it was bills, some junk, and sometimes a random fan would find out his address and send a letter, and the occasional package. One time he had received a stunning painting of him as Captain America. That one he had hung in his office. 

Jenna searched for the sender, “It’s from your lawyer. Well my lawyer too, I guess.” Jenna tore the top of the envelop open, curious as to what he could be sending her. The last time she spoke with him he had sent the divorce papers to James and they were playing the waiting game.

“Oh my god!” Jenna whispered loudly. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. It wasn’t possible. 

“What’s wrong?”

“He…he signed the papers.” She said quietly. “I don’t understand. He signed them. Without a fight.” She handed the papers over to Chris. 

“But this is a good thing, right?” 

“I think so. I hope.” Jenna looked up at Chris. “He always swore he would never let me go. Never let go of Jack.”

Chris pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Think positive, doll. “

Jenna nodded. She wished she could feel positive, instead she felt nothing but dread. There was no way James would be done with her that easily.

 

It was only a few days later that Jenna was helping Chris pack for a comic convention in San Francisco. As Chris tossed clothing into the suitcase, Jenna refolded them and placed them neatly into his suitcase. 

“Do you even know how to pack a suitcase?” Jenna asked while she refolded a pair of jeans. 

Chris laughed, “Not really. I usually just toss it all in there and deal with it all when I get to the hotel.”

“You like wrinkly clothes?” She asked with a smile. 

“I wear jeans and t-shirts, so not too much to get wrinkled. Plus one of the perks of being a celebrity is that clothing designers will just bring clothes to these things and ask that I wear them. I haven’t bought a dress shirt or suit in probably five years.” 

“Wow! That must be nice.” Jenna replied. “Is that where all the Fila sportswear came from?” Last week, Chris had received two huge boxes of clothing from Fila, inside were clothes in both hers and Jack’s size. Jack had squealed with delight when he saw the red high top tennis shoes in his size.

Chris grinned, “After I did a photo shoot for their spring line a year ago, they send me boxes of their new line every few months. This time, I asked them if they would send items in you and Jack’s sizes instead.” 

“You didn’t have to do that, Chris.” 

“I wanted to do it.” He zipped up his suitcase and pulled it off the bed. “Are you going to see Seb this weekend?” 

Jenna shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. Isn’t he going to be at the convention with you?”

“Only for one day. “

“Can I ask you something?” Jenna watched him carefully.

“Always.” 

Jenna licked her lips and thought for a moment. “It’s something Sebastian told me.”

“Okay.” Chris replied softly.

“Why haven’t you asked me out?” The words came out quickly and Jenna wasn’t sure if Chris had heard her correctly or not. 

“I…uh…To be honest, I was afraid I would scare you off.” Chris rubbed his hand across his beard. “Then Seb asked you out, and you work for me, so that’s an issue right there.” 

“Oh.” Jenna looked down and wondered if maybe she had misinterpreted what Sebastian had told her. Maybe Chris was simply being nice to her because she worked for him. Or worse, because he felt sorry for her. 

“Jenna, I would love to take you out sometime. “ 

She looked up quickly. “You would?” 

He laughed and smiled. “Yes. I really would.” 

“That could be construed as sexual harassment, couldn’t it, Mr. Evans.” Jenna looked at him innocently. “I mean, you are my boss.” 

Chris rocked back in laughter and grabbed his chest. When he had stopped laughing, he looked at her and tried to put some gruffness in his voice. “Now, now, Miss Jenna! I’m just a sweet Boston boy, I don’t know nothing about none of that.” He grinned at her again. 

“No, I’m sure you wouldn’t.” Jenna struggled to keep from laughing. 

“So, do we have a date?” 

“When”

“I’ll be back Sunday night. So how about Monday afternoon. I can take you to the pier to fish.”

“Really?” Jenna smiled brightly, pleased that he remembered that she said she liked to fish. 

“Yep. “ Chris liked seeing her face light up with joy. “So do we have a date?”

“Yes.” Jenna wondered why she felt so giddy and then realized it had been too long since someone took her feelings into consideration.


	28. Chapter 28

For the first time in a very long time, Jenna could say she was truly and totally happy. Happy with her job working for Chris, happy where she was living, and happy that Jack seemed to have more good days than bad ones. He still had moments where he would throw a tantrum or have moments when Jenna could see the anger that lived in James’s eyes flash in Jack’s little boy ones. But it only lasted a second and then he was her sweet little boy again. 

Chris had left the day before for San Francisco and Jack was at the beach with Molly and Robbie. Jenna decided to take advantage of her alone time to go shopping at one of the cute little boutiques she had seen while running errands for Chris. 

She smiled as she browsed through the racks of chic clothes. For once she had her own money to spend however she wanted. No one could tell her she couldn’t buy herself something or demand to see the receipts and then beat her when she didn’t bring back the right change. She could have a normal happy life for her and Jack.

Her pay was burning a hole in her pocket. It had been forever since she had anything new, or pretty. She didn’t need any clothes. Molly had been so nice in giving her bags of clothes, shoes, and accessories. The right thing to do would be to save the money. Just in case she needed to run suddenly. 

“You’d look amazing in that blue top!” A perky blonde salesgirl popped up beside her. 

Jenna smiled and was slightly embarrassed at being caught daydreaming over new clothes. “I don’t know. “ 

“We’re having a sale.” The girl gave her a smile in return. 

“You are?” 

Pointing to the Sale sign above the rack of clothes, the girl continued, “Everyone’s favorite four letter word is sale. I see lots of possibilities. Let me show you a great pair of white jeans that will look amazing with that top.” 

Before Jenna knew what was happening, she was in a dressing room with the girl along with another one handing her outfit after outfit over the dressing room door. “I’m just trying on. I can try clothes on and not buy them. “ She whispered to herself over and over as she pulled the white skinny jeans over her practical white underwear. 

The girl was right, the vibrant blue shirt was an looked great against her tanned skin. She turned to look over her shoulder and gave a little gasp. The jeans were comfortable as second skin, molded to her rear end. 

“How’s it going in there?” The girl gave a knock on the dressing room door. 

“Fine. It’s an adorable outfit, but I don’t think…” Jenna glanced at the price tag and tried not to gasp. The jeans cost more than anything she had ever bought.

Before she could finish speaking, the girl opened the door and stood, a pair of wedge sandals in one hand and a silver necklace in the other. “I knew that outfit would look amazing on you. Add these cute little wedges. “ 

Thirty minutes later, Jenna’s old outfit was tucked into a shopping bag, and the contents of her old purse were tucked into a fringy cross-body purse. She felt guilty for recklessly spending money and great all at the same time. She abandoned all her former resistance and embraced her independence from James and her former life. 

 

Jenna was smiling when she came into the house. Chris called her soon after she had finished clothes shopping. For the first time in a long time, her heart had skipped a beat in a good way when she saw his name pop up. He didn’t need anything, he assured her. He just wanted to chat in between the Q&A panels and photo ops. Shyly she had mentioned that she had bought a new outfit and became tongue tied when Chris said he bet she looked beautiful. 

“Someone looks happy.” Molly was in the kitchen when Jenna came in, carrying a few grocery bags. “Not to mention, you’re simply stunning in that blue top!”

“I splurged and went clothes shopping.” She did a little spin to show off her new purchases. 

“Well worth it! It’s a perfect date night outfit with Mr. Handsome.” Molly grinned at her. 

“Oh, who told you? Chris just asked me.” Jenna said quickly.

Molly laughed. “No one told me. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I’m just surprised it took him this long.”

Jenna dropped into a chair. “I’m so clueless I never noticed anything. I thought since he kept telling me to go out with Sebastian that he didn’t like me.” 

“Trust me, Chris more than likes you, hon.” 

Jenna opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Robbie came running inside and slammed the back door. Jenna and Molly exchanged a look. 

“Robbie, come back here.” Molly called out. Robbie came back into the room with a sulking looking on his face. 

“Why did you slam the door?” She asked. 

Robbie kept his arms crossed and scuffed at the polished floor with his tennis shoe. “Jack won’t play with me.” 

“Maybe he just wants to do something different.” Molly asked. 

“No, he’s too busy talking on the phone.” Robbie mumbled. 

“He’s doing what?” Jenna questioned. Gone was her happy mood. It had been replaced with fear.

Robbie refused to look up at either Molly or Jenna. “Robbie, you tell the truth right now.” Molly admonished. 

“But I don’t want to be a tattle tale. I promised Jack.”

“It’s not being a tattle tale, Robbie.” Jenna knelt down to Robbie’s level. “Is Jack using a red cell phone?” She whispered and sucked in her breathe when Robbie glanced up and nodded. 

Jenna took off for the tent Chris had set up for the boys before he left. Boys need to camp out and sleep under the stars he had told her.  
As she approached she could hear Jack’s voice, “It’s been lots of fun. We’ve gone swimming in the ocean and on a boat, and I’m going to a new school.” 

Jenna tore open the tent flap and snatched the phone out of Jack’s hand. “Who is this?” Her heart was pounding in her throat. So much that the words came out strangled.

“Did you think I’d let you go, Jenna? Let you take my boy from me? I’ll be coming for my boy, bitch! That Hollywood pretty boy won’t be able to protect you this time.” James’s voice was loud and rough sounding. Just the sound of his voice made Jenna’s legs tremble. 

“Stay away from us, James. I’m warning you, stay away!” Jenna tried to make her voice sound confident and strong. She hung up the phone and almost threw it across the yard. She had to leave. Leave now before James could find them, and take Jack from her. 

She grabbed Jack by the hand and almost drug him to the guest house. Frantically she began tossing clothes into the suitcases. She knew she shouldn’t have been so frivolous as to buy new clothes today. What a waste of money she berated herself. She stripped out of the clothes that had made her feel so pretty and confident. She stuffed them into a ball in the corner of the suitcase. In its place she pulled on her old jeans and a worn t-shirt. Jack was sitting on the floor still crying. “Hurry up and get your toys, Jackie. We have to go NOW!” Jenna rarely yelled at him, but she needed him to hurry. 

There was a knock on the door and Jenna jumped and dropped the full suitcase she had closed. Molly came in the room. 

“Jenna, hon, what are you doing?” Molly looked from Jack sitting on the floor crying to Jenna struggling to carry the full suitcase. 

“I have to go! We have to leave here!” Jenna could feel the panic creeping up her chest and into her throat. 

“Let me call Chris.” Molly was talking to her in reassuring tones. 

“No, no, don’t do that.” Jenna grabbed Jack by his hand and pulled him up. “You don’t understand, Molly. James is coming. I have to get out of here. “

Molly followed Jenna to the old car Jenna had driven up to the pretty blue house months ago. “You don’t have to leave. You’ll be safer here, than out there somewhere.” 

“You don’t know James. I’ll never be safe, never be free from him. The only thing I can do is run.” Jenna tossed the bags in and made sure Jack put his seatbelt on. The car turned over and sputtered and then roared to life. 

“What am I supposed to tell Chris?” Molly looked absolutely horrified at what Jenna was doing and saying. 

“Just tell him…” What could Jenna say that would make running away all right? “Tell him, I’m sorry. And thank you for giving me a chance.” Jenna put the car in reverse and took off quickly down the drive.


	29. Chapter 29

Jack was sniffling and wiping tears in the backseat of the car. Jenna wasn’t sure where she was going to go. She just drove north, out of Malibu and away from the beautiful coast line where she had found a moment of peace.

She forced herself to do the speed limit. When you acted erractically, speed in her little beat up car, people noticed. People who noticed, began to wonder, wondering led to questions. But even as she ordered herself to calm her breathing, the air began to wheeze in her lungs, and stick there until she was gasping for air. 

Did you think I’d let you go? 

I’m coming for you!

 

Sweat ran down her back, making her feel cold despite the warm humid air coming through the windows. She glanced in the rear view mirror, expecting to see him behind her. A stab of nausea hit her and she swerved through traffic to pull over. She climbed over the seat and wrenched open the door and was revoltingly sick. When she was empty, she stood on shaky legs and climbed back in the car. 

Jack looked up at her, his eyes still shiny with tears. “I’m sorry, Momma.” His voice sounded pitiful and small.

 

Jenna wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “It’s okay, Jack.” She looked at him through the rear view mirror. 

“I wanna go back to Mr. Chris’s house. Please Momma.” He was starting to sniffle and cry quietly again. 

Jack never cried loudly. He had learned from an early age to stuff down his tears around his father. Crying was for sissy girls James had told Jack one day. Jack had fallen off the monkey bars at school and had broken his wrist. Jack had been sobbing hysterically when James and Jenna had arrived at the hospital. James took one look at Jack and had told him, “to suck it up and not be such a sissy.” Since then Jenna had rarely seen Jack cry and if he did it was quietly and never around James.

She shook her head and didn’t respond. Instead she pulled into traffic again and kept driving North. She didn’t stop until it began raining too hard for her to see the lines on the road. Jenna checked them into a brightly lit hotel off the interstate. Next door was a McDonald’s that Jenna made a quick stop at the drive through. 

Once in the hotel room, Jack curled into a ball on one of the double beds, refused to look at Jenna, or touch his Happy Meal. Jenna sighed, but let him have his space. She didn’t blame Jack for not talking to her. Right now she didn’t even want to be around herself. After all she had convinced herself and Jack that they were safe, and that they had a new home. One where things would never be like they had been. For awhile it had been true. But she had run again. After almost finding herself again, the mere sound of his voice had terrorized her to the point of blind flight. She hadn’t thought clearly; she just ran. Grabbed Jack and ran. James had stripped away the little bit of armor she had managed to build around her and turned her into a mass of panic.   
And she had allowed it. For whatever reason she had let him, allowed him to have that hold on her. She’d have to find the courage to change that. She’d found enough courage to run, now she would have to find the courage to stand. 

“You don’t have power over me, James. You can’t hurt me. You won’t have Jack.” She pictured James in her mind, held it there, and imagined facing him.   
The effort exhausted her. Once again, she felt the nausea hit and barely made it to the bathroom. When she could stand again, she closed the door and peeled off her clothes, leaving them in a pile as she stepped into the steaming hot shower. The water was as hot as she could stand it, but it did little to warm her back up.   
She wrapped herself in a towel and crawled into bed. She pulled the covers over her head and let herself drift off into a dreamless oblivion. 

She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but she woke with her body feeling heavy and as if she had a hangover. Jack was on the other bed, watching SpongeBob with the volume turned down low. He had his Happy Meal sitting in front of him, and he would reach down for a fry and dip in his ketchup without taking his eyes of the screen. 

Jenna pulled the towel around her tightly and searched through her bag for some clothes. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt in the bathroom. She brushed her hair out with her fingers and splashed cold water on her face. 

The knock on the door sent her spinning around. Jack was still sitting on the bed, his eyes glued to the tv screen. She held her breathe and hoped that whoever it was just went away. No one knew where she was. The knock came again. Quietly she tipped toed to the door and peered out the peep hole. She let out the breathe she had been holding when she saw who was standing outside. 

With his hands in his pockets, a ball cap on his head stood Chris. 

Slowly she opened the door, she didn’t look up. She felt too ashamed to even look at him. 

“Are you all right?” Was all he said. 

Jenna swallowed hard. “Yes.” 

“You don’t look all right.”

Jenna could imagine what she looked like. Self-conscious, she ran a hand through her hair. “I’m fine.”

“Can I come in?” She was far from fine from what he could see. She was pale and drawn. But he couldn’t back off and leave her alone.

Jenna stepped out of the doorway to make room for him. She watched him as he stepped inside the hotel room and looked around. Surprisingly Jack was back asleep, the TV was dark and Jenna had no doubt that Jack had called Chris. 

“How’d you find us?” She asked just to satisfy her need to know. 

Chris said nothing, just looked over at Jack’s sleeping form. 

“I’m sorry.” Jenna said softly. 

“Why don’t you trust me enough to protect you, doll?” He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands templed together. He looked tired too, Jenna thought. 

Jenna bit down on her lip, and tasted complete shame. “I don’t know.” 

“It hurts that you don’t trust me. That’s really hard on me, doll, because…” He paused for a moment and looked up at her with those clear blue eyes of his, “because I’m in love with you.”

“Chris, “ She said trying to not let the tears fill her eyes, “you can’t..” 

He cut her off, “I’m in love with you. Perhaps from the moment you stepped foot in my house. “

He was such a good man. Such a kind and gentle man, Jenna thought. She had no right to let him fall in love with her.   
“Chris, I’m not going to be able to give you what you want. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“How do you know what I am looking for, or what I want? And I’m a big boy, Jenna, I can determine what I think is fair or not. I love you, Jenna. End of story." 

He stood up and took her by the hand, pulling her until she was in his arms, her head cradled against his shoulder. The tenderness of his gesture, the warmth of being in his arms, knowing she was safe, made the emotions, the tears bubble up, and then she was crying. All while he held against his chest, and murmured into her hair. She was safe, he kept saying. No one was going to hurt her ever again.


	30. Chapter 30

Jenna pulled away after what seemed like forever in his embrace. She ducked her head away and wiped at her eyes, at the tears that would not stop falling no matter how hard she willed them to stop. 

“He’s going to find me and take Jack.” She whispered. “I can’t let me take Jack. I can’t put you through all of this. You don’t deserve it.” 

“I can protect you and Jack. I will not let him hurt either one of you, doll.” Chris’s voice turned stern and angry and Jenna flinched. “Don’t do that, Jenna. Don’t get scared of me. I’m not angry at you. I’m angry that someone has you so scared that you ran away.” 

“I didn’t know what to do.” 

“Where were you going to go anyways?” 

Jenna shrugged and gave a rue laugh. “I don’t even know really. I just got in the car and started driving.”  
“I’m surprised that car even got this far.” Chris stood beside Jenna and took her hand in his. He wanted her back in his arms. Instead he just held her hand, rubbing his thumb across her finger and knuckle. 

“Do you…” Jenna stopped talking and looked up at Chris. He looked tired. He reached down and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. 

“Do I what?” 

“Do I still have a job?” She said quietly. “I do like working for you.”

Chris chuckled, “Yes, doll. You have a job. Do you want to still work for me? I mean I just told you I love you.” 

“I do.” Jenna paused for a bit and then spoke again. “I want you to know that I do like you. But I’m just not ready to say I love you back. The people that I have loved have either left me or hurt me. I’m not ready to open that part of me yet.” 

“It’s okay, Jenna. When you’re ready, I’m here.” He pulled her back into his arms. “You look tired.” He said and lead her back to the bed. 

“I am tired. So very tired.” She let him help her into the bed. He laid down beside her. She snuggled up next to him, wanting the safety and security of his arms. 

“Just sleep, we can head home when you wake up.” He said as her eyes closed and her breathing slowed. 

Hours later Jenna woke up when Jack’s hand smacked her in the head. Opening her eyes, she saw that Jack had gotten in bed with her and Chris. He was now wedged in between them, laying across Chris’s chest. 

Jenna quietly got out of bed and went to make coffee in the little coffee maker. It would only make 2 cups, but she thought it would be enough for her and Chris. He said they would be going home. 

Home wasn’t something she had. Not since her dad died and the bank took the house and everything she had. It had never felt like home with James either. Would it finally be home with Chris? A real honest to god home? She hoped it would be. 

“You read my mind. “ Chris’s sleep filled voice startled her. He noticed her jump and put a hand out to steady her. “Easy now.” 

“Sorry.” She said softly and busied herself with making him a cup of coffee. 

“I hope that one day you won’t always say that.”

“I’m trying not to be the mess I used to be, but old habits die hard.” She said with a shrug. “I’m going to have my moments. That’s why I don’t want to complicate your life.” 

“You’re not complicating my life, doll.” Chris said with an exasperated sigh. He ran and through his hair and looked over at her long and hard. 

“You’re mad now.” Jenna stopped making her coffee and stepped away. 

“No, I’m not.” 

“Chris, I know how to read mad.” 

He studied her face that still looked exhausted. “I’d bet you’re pretty good at it too.” He handed her the forgotten coffee cup, “I’m brooding, not mad. Something I’m pretty good at according to my mom.” 

“Good to know. I’m a pretty good at pouting. Or I used to be. I might take it up again.”

“Can I take you and Jack home now?” He asked.

“Yes.”


	31. Chapter 31

Chris had been right about the car. When Jenna tried to start it, it refused to turn over. “Just leave it, hon. I’ll have someone tow it away, preferably to a junk yard.” 

“Okay.” Jenna didn’t offer any kind of argument up. The car had gotten her and Jack away from James, and to a new life in California. She didn’t need that tie to James anymore. She could leave it and sever that last tie for good. 

The moment Jenna walked into the house, Molly wrapped her in a bone crushing hug.

“I was so worried about you!” Molly said not letting go of Jenna. “You have no idea how much!” 

Jenna patted Molly’s back uncomfortably, not used to such open affection from another person. “I’m sorry. I just panicked.” 

“One moment we were talking about your new outfit and gossiping about your love life. The next you are running out of here like the devil is chasing you.” 

It had felt like the devil was chasing her that day. Almost as if James had appeared in Chris’s happy little home and grabbed her by the throat. All from over the phone. 

“I shouldn’t have left like I did. I’m sorry I left like I did and worried you.” East, sweet dog that he is, came trotting into the room and nudged Jenna’s hand to pet him. 

“It’s okay, Jenna.” Molly hugged her again. “I’m just glad that you are back. Chris about lost it when I called him to say that you had left with Jack.”

Jenna looked quickly over at Chris who looked away. “Well, I don’t think I will be going anywhere anytime soon. I plan on staying a long time.” Jenna said confidently. 

“Good. I like seeing you everyday and can’t wait to take care of Jack and Robbie next summer too.” Molly said as she gathered her things to leave. “Bye Chris. See you tomorrow.” 

“Why don’t you go take a hot bath. I’ll fix us some dinner and take care of the boys.” Chris gently guided her to his large master bathroom. “There’s towels over there in the cabinet. Soap and shampoo there.” 

Jenna nodded, “Thanks. I’ll only be a little while.” 

“Take all the time you want. I’ll take care of everything. Okay?” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. 

“Okay.” She closed the door behind Chris and leaned against it. She sighed deeply before starting the water running into the large Jacuzzi tub. Steam rose up as she lowered herself into the water. She knew she was safe at Chris’s house, and with him. But it didn’t stop her from fearing the worst. Jenna closed her eyes, sunk lower into the mounds of bubbles and tried to relax. 

Chris let the boys watch some television while he fixed some macaroni and cheese along with some fish sticks. Knowing Jenna would want the boys to have something healthy with dinner, he sliced up some celery and carrots for vegetables, and then some apples with caramel for dipping. He called the boys for dinner and then started making dinner for himself and Jenna.   
He wasn’t the best cook, but he definitely could whip up some Italian when needed. Water on to boil for noodles, oven heating up for garlic bread, and some homemade Bolognese sauce from his mom. 

He watched Jack nibble on a carrot stick. “You okay, Jack?” Chris asked. The boy had been quiet ever since they got back to the house.  
The boy nodded and took a big drink of milk, leaving a milk mustache above his lip. 

“Is Momma okay?” He finally asked while crawling up into Chris’s lap. 

“Yeah, little man. She’s okay.” 

“I didn’t know that Momma would get so scared. I just wanted to talk to my Daddy.” 

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” 

“Is my Daddy gonna come take me away? I don’t want to leave here. I like you and Robbie and playing with East. Momma’s not scared of you and she don’t cry like she did at Daddy’s.” 

“No one is going to take you away, Jack. I promise!” Chris comforted. He hoped he was right and that James wouldn’t come after the woman and young boy he had grown to love.

The soft tapping at the door woke Jenna up. The bath water was cold. Chris called to her from the other side of the door. 

“You okay, Jenna?” 

She splashed the cold water on her face, and answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a bit.” She pulled the plug in the bath and got out. 

“All right. Dinner’s ready when you get done.” 

 

Chris let the boys sleep outside in the tent he had put up the week before. He was plating the spaghetti and garlic bread when Jenna came into the kitchen, barefooted and wearing his dark blue robe. 

“Sorry, I forgot to bring clothes into the bathroom with me. Your robe was on the back of the door, so I’m borrowing it for a bit, if you don’t mind.”

Chris swallowed hard and felt his face flush, she looked beyond sexy in his robe. “Borrow it however long you want, doll.” He placed a full plate in front of her. 

“Thanks.” Jenna said softly and began to twirl noodles around her fork. She took a bite and smiled. “This is really good. You cook this?”

“My mom made the sauce.” 

“It’s delicious!” She twirled more noodles. Chris laughed as she slurped up a stray noodle. 

“I’ll be sure to tell her the next time we talk.”

“Did the boys eat dinner already?” Jenna asked as she pushed her plate away. 

Chris nodded and took their plates to the sink. “I made them fish sticks and mac n cheese.” 

“Thanks for doing that. I planned on fixing them dinner.” 

“Hey, doll, “ Chris interrupted her. “I told you to take your time and that I would handle everything. I did, so don’t feel like you need to apologize or feel bad for anything.” 

“Okay.” Jenna said and sighed. “I’m so sorry that I made you leave your convention.” She watched as Chris rinsed their dishes and put them into the dishwasher. She had offered to help, but Chris had told her no, and that he just wanted her to sit down and relax. 

“Doll, I’ve already told you that it’s okay. You are more important than some comic convention.” 

“But that’s your job.” Jenna argued.

“Just stop.” Chris shushed her. “Do you know how many of those I go to every year to promote the latest Marvel movie? I go to so many of those that I lose track of where the hell I am. I don’t think the movie is going to fail because I left a day early to take care of my family.” Chris saw her jaw drop. “Yes, you and Jack are my family. I meant what I said, I love you and that little boy. So stop worrying about things.”


	32. Ch 32

Jenna was cleaning up the breakfast dishes when Chris came into the kitchen. 

“Are you ready to go?” He asked. 

“Ready to go where?” Jenna closed the dishwasher and started it. She picked up a sponge and wiped down the stove and the kitchen table. 

“It’s a surprise.” He smiled and raised his eyebrows at her. “Go change clothes and meet me outside.” 

“But I don’t know where we are going.” Jenna protested. 

“Just put on some clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.”

“But…” Jenna began. 

“Just go change,” Chris laughed. 

Jenna did as he said. She decided to wear something similar to what Chris was wearing, a pair of cut off jeans and a t-shirt. She tied a flannel shirt around her waist to use if it got cold later. 

Chris was waiting for her in his truck in the driveway. He had a pair of sunglasses hiding his expressive eyes and a Patriots ball cap pulled down low on his head. 

“Climb on in beautiful.” He said as she opened the door. 

“Now are you going to tell me where we are going?” She asked buckling her seat belt. 

“Nope.” Chris replied grinning at her. He backed out of the driveway and started driving. “I told you it’s a surprise.” 

“Not even a little hint?” Jenna held up her fingers making a pinching motion. 

“No way.” He laughed. “I bet you search the house for Christmas presents, don’t you?” 

Jenna laughed, “Yes, I do. My dad and brother had to hide them in different places all the time. I just can’t stand the suspense. I’m terrible.”

“I’ll remember that when Christmas rolls around.” He glanced over at her. 

“It’s so beautiful here.” Jenna said after a bit of silence. 

“Yeah, it is.” Chris agreed. “You’ve only seen part of California. Up north is beautiful with the National Forrest.”

“I’d love to see Yosemite.” 

“Next big break I get, I’ll take you and Jack camping there.” 

“Like real camping or glamping?” Jenna asked. 

“Real camping. Tents and sleeping bags on the ground.” 

“For real.” She looked at him doubtfully. 

“What? Do I not look like the outdoors type? I have the beard and I do own a couple of flannel shirts you can steal.” He laughed.

“I guess we’ll have to see.” Jenna replied as they pulled into the marina parking lot. “Are we at the marina?” She asked her voice full of excitement. 

“Yep.” He grinned over at her. “Surprise. I’m taking you fishing.” 

Jenna clapped her hands together eagerly. “Oh my gosh. Thank you!” She leaned over and grabbed him in a big hug, startling both herself and him. 

“ You’re missing something.” He reached behind his seat and pulled out a worn Boston Red Sox ball cap. He placed it on her head and pulled it down, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Now you’re perfect. Gotta have a ball cap on to fish.” 

Jenna blushed and gave him a long look. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m a die hard Arizona fan.” 

“I’ll just have to convert you over to the Boston side.” He tapped her hat lightly and got out of the truck. 

They bought fishing supplies from the marina store and walked down the pier until they found the perfect spot. Chris set up the poles for them, impressed that Jenna baited her own hook. 

“Who taught you to fish?” Chris asked. He was leaning over the edge of the pier, looking down at the blue waters. 

“My dad.” Jenna gave her fishing pole a slight pull when she felt a tug on the line. “I was a really impatient little kid. I couldn’t sit still, didn’t want to wait for anything. I chattered all the time. So my dad started taking me fishing. I had to be really quiet and sit very still otherwise the fish wouldn’t want to be my friend, my dad told me.” She smiled remembering her dad. The big strong man who had placed the fishing pole in her little hands and guided her to cast out on the lake in Arizona.  
She had sat so very still and quiet her legs had started shaking. Frustrated that she had gotten one single bite she threw down her pole and turned her back to the lake. “I’m gonna count to ten fishies, and if you aren’t coming up to talk to me, I’m gonna go home.” As she started counting down, she saw her father stifling laughter, but then he pointed to the lake. She finally had a bite. She grabbed her pole and reeled it in as fast as she could. It was a small 10 inch catfish. Her very first catch and she was hooked on fishing with her dad. 

Chris watched her as she told her story, how her face changed and relaxed while she remembered fishing with her dad. “I like hearing you talk about your family. Your dad sounds like he was a great man. I wish I could have met him.” 

“I wish you could have too. He would have liked you, I think. My brother too.” For a brief moment, Jenna thought of how different her life would have been had her father and brother not died. She might have gone to college, gotten her degree and maybe married someone like Chris from the beginning. But then she wouldn’t have Jack. Jack made her life worth living even in the hell that it had been. 

As if Chris knew she was thinking about Jack he spoke up interrupting her thoughts, “Next time we should bring Jack. He would like this.” 

“Yes he would.” She agreed. 

 

“Want to get some lunch?” Chris asked after they had been fishing for a couple of hours. 

“Sure.” Jenna reeled in her line and put her pole next to his. 

“There’s a café right over there. I’ve only been once but it was pretty good.” He gathered up their supplies and gestured to the white clapboard building. 

Jenna followed Chris into the building and felt the rush of cool air conditioning, raising goose bumps on her bare arms. She pulled on the flannel shirt she had brought and looked over the menu written on the chalkboard.

Chris rocked back on his heels and folded his arms. “Do you know what you want for lunch?” 

Jenna scanned the menu again, feeling a sudden sense of anxiety. “I don’t know. You should just order me whatever you’re getting.” She didn’t want to keep him waiting. 

“No, take your time. What if you hate the thing I order? You’d be hungry.” He uncrossed his arms and put one around her. He felt her tense up and then relax. It had been an automatic reaction and then the next had been one of relief. 

“I guess the salmon burger looks good.” She finally said. 

“You sure? You can order whatever you want. I’m not in any hurry.”

Jenna took another look and then nodded her head. “I’m sure.” 

Chris placed their order and then they walked to sit outside on the patio overlooking the ocean. He took a drink of his beer and waited before speaking. 

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about some things.” He started and he saw Jenna tense up. “It’s not bad, I promise.” 

“Am I really that transparent? That you can see my emotions immediately? Without me even saying a word?” Jenna toyed with the straw wrapper from her drink, folding it over and over until it was a perfect tiny square. 

“I’ve just gotten use to how you react, I guess.” He took another drink. “I talked to some people last week. I had planned on talking to you when I got back from the ComicCon, but you left and that derailed my plans.”

“I’m really sorry.” She said softly.

“Jenna, it’s water under the bridge. You felt scared and you did the only thing you knew to do. You were protecting Jack and I cannot fault you for that.”

The waitress brought their food and there was a moment of silence as they dug into burgers and fries. 

“Sometimes I wonder if I will ever stop feeling scared and feeling the need to run away. I felt so safe with you and then that one phone call sent me running. I was terrified!” 

“It’s not going to be that way forever.” Chris assured her. 

“I wish it was that simple, but you don’t know that. I want to get past this. To be able to trust you and finally feel at peace, but I feel like I am smelling smoke from a fire that doesn’t exist.”

“I wish I could convince you that things will be okay. But I can’t. I want you to stay here. With me.” He finished off his beer and sat back in his chair. “I went to the junior college near the house before I left last week. I paid for your first semester in full, books included. You said you wanted to go to college and I want you to be able to as well.” He waited for her reaction, hoping that it would be a good one.

Jenna’s mouth dropped open. “But why? I mean…” She stopped and pressed her eyes closed. Tears were forming. Was she so emotionally damaged that Chris doing something nice for her would make her an crying mess. 

“Jenna, I want you to stay. I want you to feel free to start a new life. Hopefully with me.” He said. 

“Thank you.” She said softly. “I’m at a loss for words other than thank you.” 

They were driving back to the house when he reached over and took her hand in his. She didn’t flinch or pull away. A smile played across her lips and she looked over at the man next to her. A man who was satisfied with her just as she was. 

They were at a long stoplight when he leaned back and just stared at her. 

“What?” She said, smiling at him. 

He cocked a finger at her and motioned for her to come closer. She moved closer until their faces were inches apart. “Can I kiss you?” He said in a husky whisper. 

Jenna nodded and closed her eyes. She felt his lips press softly against hers and the tickle of his beard against her mouth. She nearly moaned when she felt his tongue brush against hers. He was so tender and gentle that she almost fell over into his arms. One of his hands snaked into her hair and cupped the back of her neck, holding her to him. He was kissing her from a differently angle when an angry car horn interrupted them. 

“I guess well have to continue that later.” He said with a ragged breathe. 

Jenna laughed and bit her lip. She had forgotten what it was like to have someone kiss her, want to kiss her, and make her feel something again. 

“Chris?” She said thoughtfully. 

“Hmmm.” He looked at her with a dreamy look on his face, as if kissing her had put him into some kind of trance. 

“You said you loved me a… a few days ago. And…I wasn’t… I didn’t know what to say.” 

Chris nodded. 

“Well, I thought about it a lot. I like you too, and maybe the next time, if you do say it again. I’ll say I love you too.”


	33. Chapter 33

As they walked into the house, her hand in Chris’s, they could hear the wailing. Immediately Jenna let go of his hand and ran toward the sound of her son’s cries. 

Molly was kneeling in front of him, phone cradled in her shoulder, as she wrapped Jack’s arm. A look of relief crossed her face when she saw the two of them. “I was just calling you. I think Jack’s wrist is broken.” She looked absolutely bereft. Jenna could see where tears had fallen from her eyes. 

Jenna carefully swooped up her son, who monkey-wrapped himself around her and started crying into her neck. “I fell down hard.” He cry heaved into her shoulder. Jenna could feel his hot tears soaking into her t-shirt. 

“The boys were riding bikes on the driveway, having contests to see who could go the end and back. Jack swerved to miss hitting Robbie and fell off the bike hard.” Molly started crying herself. “I’m so sorry Jenna. I should have been watching them closer.”

“It’s okay, Molly. Get in the truck, Jenna. We need to drive Jack to the emergency room.” Chris took control of the situation. 

“I don’t wanna gooooo!” Jack lifted his head and wailed.

“It’s okay, baby. The doctor will make it all better.” 

“Something bad is going to happen.” Jack kept crying. 

Jack was always this way. He worried, always wary and cautious. It was no wonder with how James treated him and Jenna. Even when things should have gone well, they had a way of going wrong. A good day full of promise could suddenly turn black and ugly with James’s sudden mood swings. Jenna felt her stomach clinch with Jack’s prophecy. 

Jack stayed curled up in Chris’s arms the entire time they were at the emergency room. “You’re awfully brave, big man.” Chris said to him after the doctor had manipulated Jack’s arm. They were waiting for the nurse to come in and take Jack for an x-ray.

“Big boys don’t cry.” Jack said solemnly. “That’s what my daddy said.” Jenna watched Jack stick his thumb in his mouth. She let him have that little bit of comfort instead of telling him to stop. 

“It’s okay for boys to cry. I cried when I broke my leg when I was younger.”

“You did?” Jack took his thumb out of his mouth and looked up at Chris. 

“Yep. And when I watch that movie, Up. I cry every time I watch that one.” 

Jenna watched the interaction between her son and the gentle giant of a man. James had always been so gruff, so rough with Jack. Never once had James comforted Jack or let him show emotion. The last time Jack had broken his wrist, James had yelled at Jack to stop being such a sissy when he cried. 

When the nurse came in and took Jack for his x-ray, Jenna stood up to go with him, but the nurse told her it was best if she stayed there and let her handle Jack. Jenna sat back down with a thump in the chair. She just knew the doctor was going to think she had abused Jack. Just like last time. She put her head down and started to cry. 

“Hey. Hey now, doll. Jack’s going to be okay. Boys always end up with a broken something.” He put his arms around her and pulled her in close. 

“They’re going to think I abused Jack. I know they will.” She buried her face in his shoulder. 

“No, they won’t. It was an accident.” Chris responded. 

“Jack’s broken that arm before. James…” Jenna paused, not wanting to admit that Jack’s father had hurt him so violently.” James did it one time. He lost his temper and twisted Jack’s arm. Child protective services came and investigated us. James pretended like he was father of the year and that it had happened by accident when he was playing with Jack. That is why I made the decision to leave him for good.” 

“But Jack is not abused now. You left James so that would never happen again.” Chris interrupted her. “You’re a good mom, Jenna.” He pulled her away so he could look at her face. “You. Are. A good mom.” He punctuated each word. 

Jenna wished that her memory could be cleansed of the memories of James’s abuse. She looked over at Chris. There was nothing to fear in the blueness of his eyes, his squared jaw, and his almost childlike smile and laugh. Everyday she saw more of his sweetness. 

“Why was I so afraid of you?” She asked.

Chris almost chuckled. “Everyone is afraid of something.” 

“I was terrified of you. And now I wonder how I could have ever been afraid.” She put her hand in his and felt the warmth and strength in his grip. 

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. You and Jack are safe.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

The doctor came back in with Jack and some X-rays. “Well, Mom and Dad, it is not broken. I do see where he previously broke this arm.” He held up the slide and showed them the healed break in Jack’s forearm. “I think he just has a bad sprain. I’d like him to wear a brace for the next few weeks and rest it as much as possible.”

Jenna nodded, swallowing down the anxiety that was crawling through her body. Jack was in Chris’s lap again and Chris was still holding her hand. She felt him squeeze her hand. She wanted to say, “it was just an accident. Please don’t judge me.” But the doctor never asked anything. Just told Chris how they were going to bring in a brace for Jack’s wrist. 

A little while later they were on the way back home. Jack had a blue brace on his wrist, along with several super hero stickers decorating his t-shirt. He fell asleep on the ride home and Chris carried him inside and placed him in bed beside a sleeping Robbie. Molly was still apologizing and Jenna reassured her that it was not her fault. Chris told her to take the next day off work and that he would see her on Friday. 

“I’m going to bed, “ Jenna said after kissing Jack goodnight and making sure he was comfortable. 

Chris reached out and took her hand as she walked past him. “Why don’t we sit outside for a bit. I’ll light the fire pit and we can have a glass of wine. Unwind from the day.”

“All right.” Jenna followed him out to the backyard. Chris was carrying a bottle of wine and two wineglasses. He poured them both a glass before lighting the gas fire pit. 

“I wish I could make a real fire.” He sat down next to her and took a sip of the red wine. “Can’t have those here with all the drought. I miss the smell of one.” 

Jenna nodded and looked away. She swirled her wine around before taking a small drink. The wine was tart and zesty. Jenna took another drink, almost draining her glass. Chris leaned over and poured in some more before she could ask. 

“Easy there, doll. I wouldn’t want to get you drunk on our first date.” By the fire light, Jenna could see his smile. She looked away quickly. “It’s been a rough evening, hasn’t it?” 

Jenna ignored that question. Instead saying, “Do you know when the last time I had wine was?” 

Chris shook his head, “No, why don’t you tell me.” 

“Technically it was champagne. My friend, Tully, brought it when I had Jack. I had one glass and that was it. Didn’t really like it much.” She took another sip. “Besides James drank enough for both of us.” She said softly. 

“Was he violent when he drank?” Chris asked just as softly. 

“No. “ She shook her head. “James didn’t need alcohol to be violent. He just needed to be awake.” As if he was able to hear her speaking his name, Jenna looked over her shoulder and shivered. 

“He doesn’t have any power over you. You know that right?” 

“In my mind, I know this. I know that I’m free and that he cannot hurt me anymore. But in my heart, I’m still so very afraid. I still have this gut feeling that he’s not done with me yet. That I’ll never be really free. At least not until one of us is dead.” 

“Don’t say that.” 

“I’m trying. Trying really hard to get past all of this. This mess.” Tears pricked her eyes and she wiped at them. 

“Come here.” Chris reached out and pulled her to him. 

“What? Do you want me to sit in your lap?” 

“I have a good lap and a broad chest for a reason.” He wrapped his arms around her as she settled on his lap. Her head as against his shoulder. He kissed her forehead. 

“Will it ever go away?”

“What’s that?”

“The fear? The anxiety?’ She looked into his face. 

“I don’t know. I hope it does. I don’t want you to be afraid. Not when I will do everything to make you feel safe.” He cupped her face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. 

Whether it was the wine or the fact that no one had held her like this in forever, Jenna let herself melt into him and his kiss. His mouth was against hers, against her check, then her neck. A million goose bumps raised on her skin as he enveloped her in his arms. A soft moan escaped her throat as she felt Chris’s hands slip under her t-shirt and touch her back, slip around to cup her breasts over her bra. 

A sudden movement in the bushes and the high pitched cry of a coyote sent Jenna sitting up quickly and pulling away. She stood up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let you…Let it go this far.” 

“It’s just a coyote, doll.” Chris attempted to reach for her, but she recoiled as if she had been burned. 

“I better go to bed. It’s been a really long day.” She started walking away. “Thanks again for today and helping take care of Jack. “  
“I love you, Jenna.” He called out to her. 

She stopped and turned around, “I..I..” She stuttered, unable to get the words out. Instead she ran to the guest house and went inside. 

“It’s okay. I know” Chris said softly, turning off the fire pit and going inside the house.


End file.
